Welcome Home Harry
by The fishes
Summary: Post DH. Harry gets a letter from Gringotts on his 18th Birthday. A meeting with a Goblin to inform him of his inheritance. A visit to Potter Manor. Harry meets the portraits of his parents and grandparents. Rated M for certain situations and language.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: J.K. Rowling owns the Potter universe.**

31st July 1998

Harry Potter woke up in his room from a nightmare which was common for someone who had just become free from the constant presence of a dark murderous shadow. He looked wildly around quite forgetting where he was, drawing his wand from under the pillow, ready to attack. It was around dawn but the sun had not risen yet, from the corner of his eye, he felt a movement to his left. Squinting in that direction he illuminated his wand and was greeted with the magical poster of a Quidditch team in bright orange robes. He stared at the poster dumbfounded for a few minutes and the Chudley Cannon team waved back. He quite suddenly remembered that he was in Ron's room and quickly glanced over to Ron's bed which was empty as he was accompanying Hermione to Australia to find her parents. They had left three days ago and were hoping to come back in two weeks.

Mrs. Weasley had fretted on the idea of letting two young people who were too in love to go alone on a trip but her argument was cut short when Ron pointed out that they had already spent ten months with each other on the run and didn't do anything out of line. Harry had offered to go with them to ease her mind, but Mrs. Weasley had absolutely shot down that idea. She still feared that if she let the three of them go, they would never come back, after facing all that they had, and she wouldn't blame them for wanting to flee from the country for a few months. She however, told Harry that he had to stay because one of them needed to attend the trials of the remaining death eaters as witnesses, the Malfoy trial was just round the corner and Harry was the witness defending them, so, Ron and Hermione had left three days ago and life at the Burrow was rather quiet without them.

Harry sighed and flopped back on his pillow, staring at the ceiling. The war had ended two months ago, Voldemort was dead, and so were Fred, Colin, Remus, Tonks and 46 others. Harry could tell you all about it, he had attended all the funerals, given his support and condolences to the families that were torn apart and in return received their hugs, appreciation, love and in Dennis Creevey's case blame and anger. What bothered him the most was that none of the Weasley's blamed him for Fred. A day after the battle of Hogwarts, after everyone had rested a bit, he found himself in Mrs. Weasley's arms as she hugged him like a mother and thanked Merlin that he was alive. The guilt he felt for the love he received burned his insides. He tried to keep the tears out of his eyes, as they threatened to spill out. He wept, sobs wracked his body, and he mourned all the people who died because of him, for him.

His parents, Sirius, Dumbledore, Fred, Remus, Tonks, he sobbed for his Godson Teddy Lupin, he had met the baby a few times since the funeral of his parents. Andromeda had brought Teddy to him after the funeral, she had cried on his shoulder. Shushed him when he apologized for her loss and told him that she was glad that Teddy would grow in a world free of war and that was what Tonks and Remus had fought and died for. Teddy's hair had turned black as soon as Harry had held him and he had giggled, waving his fist at his Godfather. Andromeda told Harry that Teddy had a specific hair colour for everyone he recognized as family. His hair changed to Turquoise as soon as Andromeda took him back in her arms, she told him that Teddy used Sandy Brown hair for Remus and Bubblegum pink hair for Tonks, when Ginny held him, Teddy's hair went a vivid green as he laughed gleefully when Ginny bounced him.

Meeting Teddy both pained Harry and eased his pain. He knew he loved the baby as soon as he took him in his arms, but he also felt sorry that Teddy would grow up not knowing his parents either. In many ways, Harry saw himself in Teddy and he vowed that he would give Teddy what he lacked, a family. His children would love Teddy and Andromeda as they would love their own siblings and grandmother. Teddy and Andromeda were part of Harry's family now. As soon as he thought of Teddy, Harry's sobbing subsided, silent tears rolled down his eyes, he whimpered once in a while but the more he thought of Teddy, the less he cried. Teddy was an engaging child with an amazing knack for mischief; he behaved less like a three months old baby and more like he was six months old. He sure knew how to get things done his way without ever being scolded.

Harry smiled through his tears as he remembered Teddy's last visit to the Burrow. Teddy had fussed wanting chocolate milk and refused to eat a bowl of mashed banana. In fact he had knocked off the mashed banana bowl from his high chair, splattering the food on the floor. He had then gone on to laugh merrily, and when Harry had tried to reprimand him, he had grinned at Harry showing off his gums with the most innocent expression in his eyes as he tapped his fingers against his palm, asking for chocolate milk. What surprised Harry the most was, that Mrs. Weasley who had advised Harry on being firm with Teddy when it came to food, cooed and gave him a bottle of chocolate milk saying that Teddy was not hers to discipline and so she could spoil him rotten like she planned to spoil all her grandchildren. Smiling slightly, Harry wiped his tears and lay down thinking about Teddy.

 **AN: Read and review please! First fic ever. Happy reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

When Ginny Weasley walked in to wake Harry up at 8:00 in the morning, she found him sleeping in a fetal position with a hand curled around his wand. She sat next to him and watched him sleep. Even after two months, he still looked like a tortured soul, his hair was tousled, there were scars all over his body and his face even in his sleep looked pained, as if his dreams were torturing him. She ran a finger along his arm, gently stroking his hand, she tried and failed to flick a fringe of hair off his forehead and cupped his cheek. Harry seemingly relaxed in his sleep, she stroked his face again and smiled to herself. They had lost so much already. He had lost everything, she had lost Fred, but she knew that he would heal someday, that they would heal someday and if it was the last thing she did, she would help Harry heal.

She gently shook his shoulder. "Harry", Ginny whispered shaking him, "Harry, C'mon wake up love." He stirred but did not open his eyes, he moaned something and shifted a little, she giggled, "Harry! Wake up! Mum wants you to come down for breakfast." She emphasized every word with a poke and before she knew it, she was pulled into his arms and in a fluid movement pinned beneath him on his bed, with her wrists held above her head in his hand. He stared at her, eyes wild before he relaxed and loosened his grip on her wrists. "Merlin, Ginny!" he muttered, "How many times have I told you not to attack me in my sleep? I could have hurt you. I was a nanosecond away from pulling out my wand. And I would have cursed you had I not recognized your perfume." She giggled and squirmed a little under him, trying to free her hands, he was still staring at her, squinting to see her clearly. "Harry!" she whispered with a laugh "Do you mind freeing my hands?" Harry was busy pulling his glasses from the bedside table when he heard her request and his eyes bulged when he realized the death grip he had on her wrists. He freed her wrists as he put his glasses on and stared down at Ginny.

She was smirking with a mischievous glint in her eyes and he blushed. She laughed and pulled him closer as her arms snaked around his neck and she brought her lips close to his ears. "Really Potter!" she whispered sending shivers down his spine, "You sure like it rough don't you?" He blushed and she laughed and before they knew it, he was kissing her, hungrily. She touched his lip with her tongue, He groaned, opening his mouth enough to grant her access. She sure knew how to kiss, his heartbeat was erratic, and lying on top of her he could feel all of her. The way her chest felt against his, the way her leg was wrapped around his thigh and was pressing him against her, the way her other leg was between his legs. Her hands clenched around his hair and his hand snaked under her body, to hold her waist while the other lifted her shirt just a little. She moaned as his hands touched her bare skin; he nibbled her lower lip before resurfacing for air. He kissed her jaw, going to her neck, she moaned his name, and electric currents ran down his back. He nibbled a pressure point before sucking it hard and that was too much for her, she pulled him back to her and starting kissing him wildly, as their tongues fought, he felt her tugging at the hem of his T-shirt, and then he felt her hands on his back, he moaned, making a guttural sound at the back of his throat as she ran a finger down his spine.

Without breaking the kiss, he flipped her on top of him. She was driving him crazy, her scent, her soft hands, her even softer lips, his Ginny. She was his salvation, his savior, the one he thought of before dying because she was the only real thing in the world. She was his anchor to sanity, his love, his everything. When he was on the run, he was afraid that Ginny would move on, find someone who was safe and stable, someone to love without fearing death or torture. All his fears were deemed false when she had called his name like her life depended on it when Hagrid was carrying his body. She loved him, like he loved her and she was kissing him. He broke the kiss, Ginny's face hovered inches before his, both were breathless, he pushed her long hair out of her face and closed his eyes, tracing her features with his fingers. "Ginny…" he breathed on her neck as planted a kiss there, he took her name before planting a kiss on her neck, her jaw, the corner of her mouth. "Ginny" he whispered again without opening his eyes, his fingers tracing her lips. "Harry" she called, as her forehead touched hers, "Harry" she whispered his name again as she ran her thumb across his cheek. "Happy Birthday, Harry" she whispered before kissing him softly. Harry deepened the kiss, before he knew it, his arm was wrapped around her waist, securing her to his chest and his other arm was travelling higher and higher on her back under her shirt, moving her shirt up along with it. She moaned in his mouth, breaking the kiss, she nibbled his ear, making him shiver with pleasure as he kissed the side of her neck.

He knew they should stop, any moment now would be too much for him and he would flip her again, pinning her under him and if that happened he wasn't sure if he would be able to stop what would follow. Ginny though of age was still in school, they were still grieving and he didn't know any contraceptive spells, he didn't have muggle contraception things either, he wanted it to be perfect for her. He wanted to let go of his pain before he had sex with her. Right now, he would hurt her; he would be rough with her. All their kisses right now were rough; it was a way for them to release their pain and need. He didn't to have sex with her to take his pain out on her; he wanted to share the moment with her, he didn't want to use sex as a form of escape, he was done running. His mind kept telling him to stop as her lips sought his lips again; his body was not ready to listen to him at all. Their lips were crushing each other's lips, their tongues fought, their mouths fought to bite the other's lips hard. His nails dug her back as her hands pulled his hair. Harry's mind was screaming for him to stop, he tried to move his hands away but Ginny held onto him taking away all his reasoning. He flipped again, crushing her under him, as her fingers ran down his spine; he moved his pelvis, grinding against her. He was hard and he wanted her right now; he wanted to ravish her. He wanted her to scream his name, beg him, he wanted to kiss and bite every surface of her body. He yanked her shirt up roughly, breaking the kiss, he looked down on her breasts, and he started tugging on her bra to free her breasts. A loud ripping noise later, Ginny's breasts were free. He ran his thumb around her nipple, then covering her breast with his palm, he squeezed it hard. She moaned in pain, he squeezed it harder and she dug her hands in his scalp and shoulder, he felt her nails biting into his skin and welcomed it.

In one fluid movement, he shoved her breast in his mouth and started sucking hard, his tongue moving around her nipple. He could feel her move like a wave underneath him, moaning as she moved. He took her nipple between his teeth and pulled, as he pinched the nipple on the other breast. "Harry" she moaned his name. He liked that, he lifted his head while his hand continued to play with her breast, kneading, squeezing and pinching. "Say it again" he commanded hoarsely "Say my name Ginny! Tell me you want me" She opened her eyes, her eyes were clouded with need, she looked into his eyes darkened with desire, and whispered what he wanted her to say. That was all he needed, he claimed her lips roughly, biting her lower lip, shoving his tongue forcefully down her throat. Her hands moved downwards, to the bulge in his drawstring pants, she rubbed cloth material between his legs, teasing him. He growled against her lips, she would pay. He lifted her leg wrapped around his thigh to his waist and smacked her ass; she squirmed, making a noise in the back of her throat. All reason left his body and mind, he wanted her, he needed her, she wanted him too, she had said so herself, and that's that there was no point in waiting for the right moment, no point in worrying about contraception and pregnancy, he went to smack her ass again.

 _CRACK!_

They jumped breaking the kiss and the moment, to stare around wildly for the source of the noise. Looking towards the window Harry realized a black owl had crashed against the closed window. Harry could not remember seeing such an owl, this one definitely did not belong to any of his friends or family but the crash had woken Pig up who was tweeting crazily as he zoomed in his cage. Harry wanted to swear and break something. The Burrow was cursed; every time he tried to have a private moment with Ginny someone would interrupt him. Last year Ron barged in to stop Harry from kissing Ginny to his heart's content and this year, that stupid owl and now Pig prevented him from having sex with Ginny. Both times he was secretly glad that he was stopped before he did something stupid and drastic but it did not take the disappointment away. He looked down at Ginny, his hand was still holding her breast while the other held her waist, her hands were on his shoulders and she was watching him. He looked at her and then both looked down to her ripped bra and exposed breasts, his bare upper body, both felt his erection rub against her inner thigh as he tried to move and both blushed.

 _Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

They looked at the window and Harry jumped off the bed, looking for his T-shirt which was removed and thrown on the floor at some point. He quickly put on his T-shirt, peeked at Ginny, who was sitting on his bed, with her wand pointing at her ripped bra as she wordlessly repaired it, she yanked down her shirt and smirked at Harry who was now openly gaping at her. He wanted to tell her that she was the most beautiful woman in the whole world but that stupid bird was tapping on the window non- stop and that irritated him beyond belief.

"I am coming, I am coming" he muttered irritably as he opened the window. The black owl soared in majestically and Harry realized that the bird was not all black, but had spots of grey all over its other side and tail. It landed on the table where Pig was zooming excitedly in his cage, hopped towards Harry and stuck its leg out, giving Harry a disapproving look. Meanwhile, Harry was looking at Ginny, the way the sun hit her hair and made it look golden, the way her shoulders hunched as she ran her fingers through her hair to straighten them out. His eyes lingered at her swollen lips as she pouted at the owl, her feet dangling from the bed. The owl hooted indignantly, Ginny felt Harry's eyes on her; she got off the bed, walked to the table and removed the letter from the owl's leg, offering the beautiful bird some owl treat as she crooned to it. The owl nipped her fingers affectionately and flew off.

Harry was still standing beside the window looking at her; she looked down at the letter and observed the seal. "It's for you Harry and it's from Gringotts." She stated looking confused, "Are you still in trouble with them? I thought you had apologized, paid for reconstruction and even donated a new baby dragon. What more could they want from you?" This brought Harry back to Earth, he was reliving the morning in his head with equal amounts of desire and guilt. He folded his arms across his chest, making no move to walk towards Ginny and take his letter; he was afraid he won't be able to stand being so near her and keep his hands to himself. He frowned as he looked at her and said "I thought that was what they wanted; they agreed that the idea of Voldemort coming back because of a Horcrux protected by them was a bad idea. In any case, they told me that protecting such dark objects in their vaults is against their policy, it was only when Voldemort was controlling the bank that they allowed the cup to be kept in the Lestrange vault; otherwise Lucius Malfoy would have kept all his dark objects in his vault."

Ginny walked towards him with the letter. He looked at her warily, afraid of losing control around her again. She held out her hand and he picked up the letter and pocketed it. He looked at her uncertainly and was appalled to see hurt flash in her eyes. She turned on her heel to leave when he caught her wrist to stop her. "Ginny" he said urgently, "What is it love? What is the matter?" Ginny struggled against his grip, when he didn't relent, she turned around looking livid "I don't know Harry" she replied acidly, "I mean it shouldn't matter to me really that after whatever happened between us this morning you just refuse to look at me or come near me. That shouldn't be the matter at all should it?" Harry gaped at her, the one thing he loved about Ginny was that she did not cry but he didn't fail to notice that her voice cracked as she finished ranting. "Ginny" he said gently as he caught her waist with one hand and forced her chin up so that she was looking in his eyes. "Ginny" he repeated softly "I am sorry love, I didn't mean to hurt you, I was horrified that I lost control and at what were we about to do. I wanted to hurt you, I was thinking savagely. I don't want your… our first time to be so violent, so reckless. I mean we didn't even have contraception, you have to go back to school, build a career, live your life, imagine how all of that would have been jeopardized because we were careless enough to get you pregnant. I don't want to hurt you. I swore Ginny, when I was on the run, that if I ever made it out alive I would spend the rest of my life loving you." His eyes were brimming with sincerity and she made a small irritated noise and sighed.

"It's not fair Harry James Potter, I can't even stay rightfully mad at when you start being all sweet and loving." She smacked his arm as she smirked. He grinned, "So am I forgiven?" he asked playfully. She crossed her arms on her chest as she turned to look out the window and huffed. His grip on her waist tightened and he pulled her against his chest, lowering his head enough to reach her ear he whispered huskily "Come on Gin. It's my birthday" he planted a swift kiss on her ear and straightened up smirking. She turned towards him, narrowing her eyes; the effect would have been convincing had she not smirked. She ruffled his hair already unruly hair and he laughed. "Well! It's certainly an improvement from my last birthday, maybe by next birthday…" Ginny smacked his arm as she laughed.

"You are hopeless, Potter" she teased laughing "What if it happens before your next birthday?" His eyes bulged out of his sockets; she smirked at him before kissing him softly. When she broke the kiss, he made a noise of dissent. "Really Harry, look at the time. Its 8:30. I have been up here for the last thirty minutes trying to wake you up. Mum would be coming in to check on us any minute." He pouted; she laughed and pecked his pout away. He grinned at her and she stuck her tongue out at him; he poked her nose, she poked his side; he pulled her hair, she smacked his arm; she glared at him, he grinned at her before sticking his tongue out. "I don't like you Potter" she huffed as she crossed her arms across her chest. "I know, you love me", he replied cheekily. She glared at him before walking to his bed and throwing his pillow at him. His seeker reflexes were excellent, he caught the pillow, grinned at her before throwing it back at her. Her chaser reflexes were excellent too, she deftly caught the pillow and smirked "I am giving you five seconds Harry, run because I am coming after you" and with that she charged at him, whacking him with the pillow.

That's how Mrs. Weasley found them, Harry running away from Ginny and Ginny whacking Harry with his pillow. And for the first time in more than two months she wanted to laugh. It was heart warming to see Harry behave like a normal teenager for once. She revelled in their laughter, when Harry tripped over his feet and landed on the floor with a yelp and Ginny, laughing victoriously whacked him in his stomach, Molly Weasley couldn't help herself. She started laughing too and it was her laughter that informed Harry and Ginny of her presence.


	3. Chapter 3

Once she started laughing, Mrs. Weasley found it hard to stop; Harry looked worriedly at Ginny as Ginny stared at her mother with mixed emotions. The fits of laughter gave way to sobs and before she knew it, Molly weasley was crumpled on the floor sobbing as Ginny rushed to her mother and held her. Harry walked to Mrs. Weasley and hugged her, after she had stopped crying she wiped her eyes, smiled botchily at him and kissed his cheek. "Happy Birthday Harry" she said hoarsely and then cleared her throat. "I am sorry I started crying on your birthday, I didn't want to destroy the morning for you. It's just that I saw Ginny and you playing around, being the children that you are supposed to be and I couldn't help but feel sad that all of this was stolen from you by that vile creature."

Harry thought that Mrs. Weasley was crying for Fred, he was stunned to hear that she loved him enough to cry for his loss. He felt his eyes sting. "It's okay Mrs. Weasley. We don't have to lose anything now. And my life hasn't been completely awful. For the last seven years, through thick and thin, I have had Ron and Hermione and everyone else. I still remember the way all of you stood by me after Sirius' death, the way Moody threatened Uncle Vernon. I knew then that I would be fine and look, here I am." Mrs. Weasley smiled and then made to stand up as Harry offered his arm. "Now come on down Harry, we have been waiting for you for breakfast."

She led Harry and Ginny down to the kitchen which was full. Bill and Fleur had flooed in and were chatting with Charlie who had apparated from the dragon reserve in Ireland where he had transferred to keep close to the family. Percy was reading the Daily Prophet, George was staring into the distance like he usually did these days. Mr. Weasley was reading a muggle magazine on cars, Andromeda Tonks was bouncing Teddy who screamed gleefully and turned his hair green as soon as he saw Ginny. Harry smiled as he entered the kitchen. Fleur rose and kissed him on the cheek wishing him Happy Birthday, Bill, Charlie, Percy and Mr. Weasley smiled at him. Andromeda walked up to him and hugged him, steering him to an empty chair. Harry had just taken his seat when he heard a baby exclaim "Har" loudly, he turned to Ginny was throwing Teddy up in the air and catching him. Teddy squealed and then looked at Harry, morphed his hair black and squealed "Har" again.

"That's his third word then" Andromeda said proudly. "What do you mean third word?" Harry asked shocked. "Well his first word was 'annah' I think that stands for grandma, he called me that two days ago and his hair turned turquoise. This morning when I getting him ready, he said 'no' to a particular set of baby clothes and now he called you 'Har' and turned his hair black." Harry stood up, walked to Ginny and took Teddy in his arms "Is that right, Teddy? You know my name? Aren't you a big boy now! Three words in three days, I am so proud of you." Teddy squealed, and tried to climb his shoulder, he reached up, yanked Harry's glasses off and threw them on the ground and clapped his hands. "Teddy!" Andromeda chastised exasperatedly, "How many times have I told you! You do not take things and throw them on the ground. Bad boy, Teddy, you are such a bad boy." Teddy grinned and showed his gums to Andromeda as Ginny picked up, repaired and returned Harry' glasses.

"Oh dear!", Molly smirked, "I have seen this before. The twins would throw down things all the time; I guess they liked the noise or the chaos which ensued. That one is a trouble maker right there." She smiled sadly and looked at George who was still looking at a distance, not paying attention to the conversation around him. Teddy squirmed against Harry, wanting to be put down, when Harry put Teddy down on the ground; Teddy crawled around excitedly under the table. Andromeda made to get him out, but Harry stopped her. Teddy reached George's chair and tried to raise himself up yanking George's pants in the process. For the first time in several mornings, George responded and bent down to look under the table. He found a baby with magenta hair, sitting near his feet, raising his hands up. George carefully pulled the baby out and sat him on the table, looking curiously at him. "Magenta hair" he muttered, "Why kid, why do you have Magenta hair?" Teddy merely giggled at him. George looked up and caught Harry's eye, Harry smiled and said "His hair changes colour according to people. He has given a specific colour to everyone he recognises. So far you are the only Weasley apart from Ginny that has a specific colour; everyone else is just a vivid orange for him."

George looked down at the baby who grinned at him showing his gums. Teddy reached his hand out beckoning George forward, as soon as George bent his face to Teddy's level, Teddy poked a finger in the hole that had replaced his ear and wiggled his finger vigorously. "Calm down, Kid. It's just a cursed off ear." George muttered massaging his ear. Teddy laughed and poked him again "Really! Am I that fascinating?" Teddy clapped his hands, "Fine, I know I am fascinating, I was always the better looking twin anyway. You know I have a twin Fred, if you think I am fascinating now, you should have seen us together; we were a spectacle together. Stupid prat! Left me alone and died. And I can't even be mad at him because he died fighting. The fool!" George's voice cracked, he looked down at Teddy who was listening interestedly. Teddy gently placed his palm on George's cheek; grinned and smacked his face with a squeal. The entire kitchen had watched this exchange with baited breath. Everyone sucked in a breath as Teddy smacked George who had been a little unstable lately; no one knew how he would react. Andromeda twitched her arms but Harry placed a hand on it; they exchanged a look and focused back on George who was staring at Teddy blankly as Teddy clapped his hands and poked his ear again. The tension in the kitchen was so thick; that one could cut through it with a knife.

Everyone watched George. George grinned at Teddy "Are you by any chance channelling Fred's spirit? You know the Magenta robes were his idea and I won't put it past him smack me senseless for being so lifeless. I know I would have smacked him." Teddy giggled and started talking gibberish "You know what, you are right! Fred would have wanted me to continue causing mayhem and teach young intelligent beings like you, all the tricks of the trade. Not to forget, your dad was one of the legendary marauders. It would be a right shame, if his son wasn't able to break his detention record." Teddy nodded gravely as if he understood every word. "Right then, you my dear Lupin; are my protégée. You are the son of a God and now a faithful follower would hone your natural talents at causing mayhem. You would be a masterpiece." Teddy clapped his hands. "You like the idea, don't you?" Teddy laughed and then his attention was caught by Percy's glasses and his hair turned a vivid orange as he squirmed to go to Percy. When George looked up, he saw the entire table smiling at each other and at him.

Andromeda picked Teddy off the table before Teddy reached Percy as Teddy squealed 'No' adamantly. Harry happily made a duplicate of his glasses, put an anti-breaking charm on them and handed them to Teddy who promptly threw them down. Harry summoned the glasses back and gave them to Teddy who threw them again and thus the game continued. George watched the two play with a smirk and turned to Ginny, "The kid is something else, isn't he Gin?" Ginny grinned and just like that George found a way to ease his pain. As everyone finished breakfast, Bill, Fleur, Percy, Charlie and Mr. Weasley left for work, George muttered something about re-opening the shop and contacting Lee and left. Ginny assisted Mrs. Weasley in clearing the dishes after kicking Harry out of the kitchen.


	4. Chapter 4

Harry was rocking a sleepy Teddy as he paced along the length of the living room at the Burrow. Andromeda smiled at him from her seat, when a thought occurred to her. "Harry, have you heard from Gringotts regarding your inheritance yet?" Harry looked up at her quizzically. "No, but Dumbledore told me that Sirius left everything he owned to me and I had money in my vault at Gringotts so that's all I own." The boy belongs to one of the oldest and wealthiest families in all of Britain, much older than the Malfoys, probably as old as the Blacks and knows nothing about it; Andromeda thought amusedly. "I wasn't talking to you about Grimmauld place or the money in your education fund. The Potters and the Blacks together owned a lot more than that and right now you are an heir to both blood lines. The goblins were supposed to inform you of your inheritance when you became an adult but because of what happened last year, they should have informed you by now." Harry shrugged "Maybe they are still mad at me for breaking into the bank." "It's a magical binding contract," Andromeda said "the heir is informed as soon as his parents die or in your case as soon as you come of age but in case the heir is indisposed or unavailable, he/she is informed as soon as they become available."

It was then that Harry remembered the letter he had received earlier that morning. "I did receive a letter from Gringotts this morning; I haven't had the time to read it yet." Andromeda motioned for Harry to pass on the now sleeping Teddy to her so that he could read his letter. Harry fished out the letter from his pocket and broke the seal.

 _Dear Mr. Potter_

 _The manager of all Potter family estates and affairs requests a meeting with you on July 31_ _st_ _1998 to acquaint you with your inheritance. Your presence will be expected at Gringotts' Diagon Alley branch at 12:00 p.m. Please arrange your affairs accordingly, as it might take an entire day to acquaint you with your inheritance and vault as well as with the Black family vault which has been left in your name. Please send a confirmation by 11:00 a.m._

 _Your presence will be awaited for no later than 12:30 p.m._

 _Have a nice day._

 _Sincerely_

 _Gormuk_

 _(Manager of the Potter family Estates and affairs)_

"What does he mean by Diagon Alley branch? Are there other branches?" Harry asked bewildered. Andromeda smiled, "There are other smaller branches of Gringotts at other places but the vaults are housed only at the Diagon Alley branch. So, when do you have to go for the meeting?" "It says I have to be there by 12:00 p.m., latest by 12:30 and I have to send a return owl confirming the meeting." "Ah yes! Well in your case it would be prudent to reach at 12:00 sharp, to show you are sincere and you need to send an owl now. Its 9:30 already." Harry dashed to Ron's room, and hurriedly scribbled his reply. Pig was tweeting madly in his cage "You have to take an urgent letter to Gringotts, Diagon Alley; do you understand?" Pig chirped excitedly as Harry opened his cage and hopped all over the table. Harry rolled his eyes, "Will you come here and stay still?" Pig chirped happily, hopped over to Harry but refused to stay still; used to Pig's antics, Harry easily tied the letter to his leg and carried him to the window to set him off.

He rushed off for a quick shower before bounding down to inform Mrs. Weasley about his meeting. He found Andromeda and Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen chatting over tea. "Harry dear, Ginny and George are outside in the padlock, George decided he wanted to help Ginny improve her Quidditch skills, you can join them if you wish."

"I think I might go join them Mrs. Weasley, also, please don't trouble yourself with making lunch for me. I have a meeting at Gringotts around noon, so I would leave a bit early and have a lunch at Leaky Cauldron."

"Are you sure Harry? I can whip up an early lunch for you."

"No, no. It would be quite alright. The food you cook is always delicious; I don't want to get late because I ate too much."

Mrs. Weasley beamed at Harry "Well, you make sure that you are home for dinner then. I am making treacle tart."

"Knowing that, I would be home before tea. You are the best Mrs. Weasley", Harry hugged Mrs. Weasley fondly, gave a swift kiss on her cheek, kissed Andromeda swiftly on the check and ran out for Quidditch.

"That boy", said Mrs. Weasley with a fond smile "is the sweetest and politest boy I have ever come across. Sure he has a temper but then who is perfect?" Andromeda smiled and nodded. Over these two months she had become quite fond of Harry as a person herself, she had her doubts when Remus named Harry as Teddy's Godfather. But now as she watched Harry and Teddy, she agreed that Teddy could not have had a better Godfather.

Harry observed George and Ginny throw a basketball, to and fro. George was smiling, it wasn't his same mischievous smile but still it was better than the shell he was yesterday. Harry could see that George was trying and this gave him hope. It was George who spotted Harry and waved at him to come over, Harry grabbed his broom and the three formed a triangle and passed the ball to and from till it was time for Harry to leave for Gringotts.

At 11:15 Harry, transformed his hair to dirty blonde and eyes to blue and flooed to the Leaky Cauldron. He asked the inn keeper Tom for a private parlour and ordered meatloaf sandwiches and butterbeer. Harry finished his lunch with fifteen minutes to spare. His walk to Gringotts took him ten minutes, so he decided to wait in the lobby for a couple of minutes before asking for Gormuk. Harry approached a rather free Goblin and informed him that he was here for meeting at 12:00 with a goblin named Gormuk. The teller called a younger Goblin and asked him to show Harry to the meeting room.


	5. Chapter 5

Harry had entered the meeting room for the first time and was awed by the sheer elegance. The room was lit by the several lamps moving along the walls, the room itself was huge and a rich blue colour adorned the walls. The carpets were blue too, but were embroidered with gold and silver. There was a long table in the centre of the room, the wood was Mahogany, polished with great precision, and the chairs were plush, with blue cushions. The goblin asked him to take a seat, enquired if he would like some refreshments, when Harry politely declined refreshments and thanked him for showing around; the goblin nodded formally and walked off to fetch Gormuk.

Once his escort was gone, Harry looked around and noticed that there were several portraits on the walls. The one portrait that stood was of a man with white messy hair which stuck out at odd angles. The portrait smiled at him as Harry read the name _'Lord Charlus Potter (1918- 1978), Head Auror, Auror Department, Department of Magical Law Enforcement (1955- 1978)'._ Harry's eyes went wide; he was looking at the portrait of his grandfather, before he could confirm this with the portrait a voice called his name from behind him. Harry turned and found two Goblins standing behind him. The older and more dignified Goblin stepped forward and introduced himself as Gormuk in a crisp no-nonsense tone, the younger goblin Griphin was his apprentice and would take over as the manager of the Potter Estate once Gormuk stepped down.

Harry smiled politely and shook hands with both the goblins were a little taken aback but nevertheless placed their grubby hands in his and shook them. Harry sat down as Gormuk opened a thick file and explained to Harry about his inheritance. "As the only living member of the Potter blood line, all estates belonging to the Potters go to you. I would be happy to inform you that all the businesses that the Potter family has invested in have been booming and their share is being duly put in the Potter family vault. Should you be interested in knowing in detail about all your business partnerships I would be happy to oblige but time is running short and we need to get a lot done. So for today I would give you a general standing of your accounts as well as the properties that you own. These would include:

i) Potter Manor, the ancient resident of Lord Potter

ii) the cottage in Godric's Hollow,

iii) Dragon Fire restaurant, Hogsmeade as well as Diagon Alley; it is currently being run by the Shelby family, Mrs. Danica Shelby was Lady Potter's manager and the management and maintenance of the restaurant has resided with her family since the demise of your father, the last Lord Potter, but the ownership resides with you. Your portion of the profit has been added to your vault over the years. Mr. Christopher Shelby requests you to let him run the business, apart from paying you your share in time, he has offered to permanently book a table under the name of Potter in both their branches. This however, would be your decision, should you wish to run the restaurant yourself, I would be happy to make the papers relieving Mr. Shelby of his duties and pay him reasonably for his services.  
Harry's head reeled. The Dragon Fire was the fanciest restaurant in Hogsmeade and reserving a table itself cost 100 galleons as security deposit. Apart from the wealthy pureblood students, no Hogwarts student would have been able to secure a table at Dragon Fire, let alone eat the food and all this time Harry owned the freaking place. Gormuk continued speaking and Harry snapped back to the details.

iv) A flat at 112/55, Griffin Street, Hogsmeade.

v) A summer Villa at Brousse-le- Chateau, France

Now as I understand Mr. Potter, you also inherited all the Black property too; am I correct?"

"Yes" Harry replied his throat suddenly dry.

"Very well, you would be glad to know that all papers have been clarified, the black family vault has been transferred to your name, the businesses that the Black invested in have been doing well indeed and the money has again been added to the vault, should you want details I would be happy to fix another appointment; moving on the Black estate which include:

i) Black Manor, ancient resident of Lord Black

ii) 12, Grimmauld Place

iii) 3 shops in Diagon alley which have currently been leased to Flourish and Blotts, Magical Minagerie and Paula's potions

iv) A flat in London at 13/24, Diagon Alley.

v) A summer villa at Peloponnese, Greece

vi) A summer villa at Valencia, Spain

Apart from these you also inherited money. The current standing of the Potter Vault amounts to 100 billion galleons, apart from several antique and rare magical artifacts. The Black family account after deducting one million galleons each left by Mr. Sirius Black for Mr. Remus Lupin, Mr. Arthur Weasley and Mrs. Andromeda Tonks, stands at 73 billion galleons apart from the other antiques and rare magical artifacts."

Harry sat stunned; he knew the amount of money in his education fund was enough for him to spend the rest of his life comfortably, now he was swimming in gold. He had a mental image of Scrooge Mcduck swimming in his gold and he gave a shaky laugh and looked around the room. He saw his grandfather's portrait beaming at him and turned to Gormuk who was closing the file he was carrying. "Err..Mr. Gormuk?"

"Yes, Mr. Potter"

"Is that my Grandfather's portrait right there?"

"Well of course Mr. Potter, these walls contain the portraits of all Lord Potters. Don't you know the room you are in Mr. Potter?"

"Err… I thought this was a meeting room."

"It is a meeting room, Mr. Potter. It's the Potter family's private meeting room, Gringotts offers its old and important clients private meeting rooms so that they could come and go as they please. The bank also offers a separate estate manager whose sole work is to maintain the client's estates. My family has been responsible for the Potter family estates for generations. The private meeting rooms have a special feature; you see that door down there?"

Harry nodded, "Well that door opens up to a passage that leads you directly to your private cart which would take you to your vaults without the help of a Goblin. The old family vaults are protected by blood and Lordship. Thus, only Lord Potter can access the vaults, as the vault opens with the touch of this ring" Gormuk held up a gold ring, which had two lions sitting on both sides of the letter P and what Harry assumed was the Potter family motto " _Sit amet, non fortior ausit alis" (Be honest, Be brave)_. He also showed Harry the Black family ring which had the Black family crest and motto " _Toujours pur"_.

"This brings us to the issue at hand, since you are the last Potter and of age, you become the natural Lord of the Potter family estates. Please hold out the index finger of your right hand." Harry did as he was asked and Gormuk slipped the Potter family ring on his finger, the ring changed shape to adjust to his finger and glowed. Gormuk smiled "Well that makes you Lord Potter now, you don't have to wear the ring all the time, but you have to bring it along when you come to visit the family vault. I would leave the choice of accepting the black family ring on you as there is another family with the blood of the Blacks in them. Mr. Malfoy has the right to the family vault by being related through blood, should you wish, I could prepare papers to divide the property and among you or you could ask him to appoint you as Lord Black. The money and properties still go to you but Black family heirlooms and other treasures belong to Mr. Malfoy too."

"You can still access the vault the help of this ring and a certified Goblin. The black family vault currently houses Black family heirlooms and portraits; as the gold has already been transferred in your vault."

Harry nodded dumbfounded. He had no interest in Black family heirlooms; in fact he had no interest in anything that involved the Black family. He liked the idea of Sirius' flat in Diagon Alley but he didn't care much about anything else. He decided he would give a lot off to Andromeda and Teddy and maybe pass on everything else to Narcissa Malfoy, it might mean something to her.

While Harry sat musing, Gormuk finished the paperwork. "So, Lord Potter would you like to visit your vault? Before I forget the fire place at the end is connected through floo to the Potter Manor and every other Potter family estate. Just as the black private meeting room is connected with the Black family estates. Should you wish to visit any of the Manors, this might just be the way, as both Black and Potter Manors have anti- apparition wards and are so heavily protected that it's difficult to confirm the coordinates. The black family meeting room is down the hall, third door to your right."

"Can I have a minute to collect myself and think this through?"

"Of course, Mr. Potter; I would leave you alone to it. If you need me, press this sapphire here", Gormuk said pointing at the large sapphire at the centre of the table "And I would be here to assist you. Hope you have a pleasant time Mr. Potter" and with a final nod of his Gormuk left with Griphin in tow. Harry turned to his grandfather's portrait who grinned cheekily at him. He scanned the room, several portraits were empty, the others were watching him with interest and pride.

 **AN: So, this is the first fic of my life. Please Read and Review so that I know what I am doing right. I hope you enjoy it. Happy reading.**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Like I said five chapters ago, J. owns the Potter universe.**

"You look exactly like my Jamie but you have your mother's eyes" his grandfather's portrait told him with a hint of amusement in his voice. Harry watched stunned, all his life he had yearned to know his family, now here he was facing his grandfather's portrait and he was tongue tied. Pain shot through his chest, equal parts happiness, equal parts sadness. He would finally get to know some of the Potters, he would get to know his family, how he yearned to hug his grandfather, who stood proud and tall in his portrait, giving him a confused look. "What's the matter Harry? Oh dear, Dorea would kill me all over again, I paralysed her grandson! I knew I should have stayed shut and let him talk, Harry, say something!" His grandfather said dramatically, as he clutched his chest in fake concern. Harry couldn't help but snort.

There was a groan from somewhere to his right and much above his grandfather's portrait as he grinned at his grandfather's antics. "These young ones have no sense of respect for authority and age. No sense of propriety. Snorting! In front of your ancestors, my father would have thrown me to the dragons." Harry looked at the portrait of the man that said it, he was man with brown hair, wavy hair giving him an aristocratic air and grey eyes, he gave Harry the same cheeky grin that his grandfather gave a few minutes ago, Harry supposed it was a Potter trait. The name under the portrait said " _Lord Leonis Potter (1530- 1600) Headmaster Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (1580-1595)._ Harry's eyes went wide; he didn't remember seeing this portrait in Dumbledore's office ever, no one told him that his great-great-great grandfather or something was the headmaster of Hogwarts.

"Wait! But I never saw you in Dumbledore's office. You are my ancestor, why didn't you tell me you were there all the time? I visited that office so many times, I was alone in that office so many times, why didn't you ever tell me anything?" Harry burst out flabbergasted and a little hurt. The portrait eyed him with interest before replying, "Because I have been looking out for you. I am a painting, I would have been useless, I could not bring you home to your grandparents or parents because you were too young and it was dangerous to lure you out. And knowing you young Harry, as I have come to know you, you would have jumped the chance to see the portraits of your parents or Godfather. I could not talk to you without risking your life, so I kept my peace. But I am proud of you, all of us are. You have been the bravest of us all." He smiled proudly at Harry, standing tall in his portrait.

Harry glared mutinously at the portrait before something clicked "When you say grandparents or parents, does that mean that they are here somewhere in their portraits?" Harry spun around excitedly, looking for his parents. "Your father's portrait is here, yes." This time it was Charlus Potter who answered his question, "But the portraits of our spouses reside at the Manor, this room only contains the portraits of Lord and Lady Potters, those who are related by blood through the generations." Harry looked at his grandfather and grinned excitedly, his dad was here somewhere. He spun around again, "Where are the others?" "In their other portraits, either at home or where their other portraits are, however, I believe your father and Sirius are busy terrorising the Lords from the house of Blacks, in the Black family meeting room. I will go call them, excuse me." Harry watched his grandfather vanish out of his portrait and turned his eye to Leonis Potter who smiled at him.

"Trouble making is a Potter family trait, we have been infamous for troubling others, but no one has ever attracted trouble, as much as you do." He said with a laugh; as Harry blushed and muttered that he didn't go looking for trouble, trouble usually found him. "Harry!"


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Everything belongs to queen Rowling...**

Harry turned at the sound of his name and was met with a comical sight, Sirius was struggling with his father who was trying to smack his hand on Sirius' mouth to keep him shut. "Dad?, Sirius?" "Way to go Padfoot, what happened to the 'let's surprise him by shrieking his name together'?" James said shoving Sirius' shoulder, Sirius grinned at James apologetically, who rolled his eyes before smiling at Harry. "Sorry Prongs, but I got all excited on seeing my Godson."

"Harry, son, I made a mistake when I named this idiot as your Godfather, should have asked Moony, I am just glad you didn't take after him."

"Hey! I resent that! Harry back me up here and tell your stupid father that I was the best Godfather you ever had"

Harry watched amused, Sirius looked much more handsome and happy than Harry had ever seen him alive and his heart swelled with joy on hearing his father's voice. He never thought he would talk to either of them again.

"How are you pup?" Sirius asked when Harry didn't respond, he continued. "Leonis said you were magnificent in the battle. Harry, I don't even know what it took for you to walk out to your own death, we were half afraid that you would end up as a portrait here, I don't want to see you as a portrait for a long, long time, do you get that?" Harry nodded slowly as Sirius smiled but his eyes never left his father's face.

His father smiled at him warmly, "I am sorry Harry that we died before we got to know you. Your mother and I; we are so proud of you. We couldn't have asked for a better son, I mean what man would be brave enough to walk to his death for the sake of the people he loved?" "You did, dad." James laughed, "No, I didn't, I just wanted to give you and your mom sometime to run off, without a wand though. How dumb could I be?" He grinned at Harry, who smiled back. "I am just glad you are here now dad, at least I can know you now." "Come home Harry, your mother and grandmother are dying to see you. We understand that this is a bit too much to process, but when you feel up to it, come home, come to the Potter Manor." Harry smiled at his father, nodding eagerly.

"Harry" Sirius said, "Before you go to Potter Manor, can you please remove my portrait from the Black family vault? Unlike the Potters, the Blacks would store portraits of their ancestors in the family vault, I don't want to stay around those nutheads anymore. Take my portrait and put it up anywhere else in this whole wide world, but just take me out of that vault." Harry nodded and checked his watch. It was around 1:00, he still had time. Deciding swiftly, he walked to the table and pressed the sapphire.

Griphin entered the meeting room five minutes later with none other than Bill Weasley, "How can I help you Lord Potter?" Harry turned from his spot near his father's portrait and blushed, as Bill grinned at him wording "Lord Potter" behind Griphin's back. "If it's not much trouble, I would like to remove Sirius'- Lord Sirius Black's portrait from the Black family vault."

"Very well, if you will excuse me for five minutes, I would go retrieve the Black family ring." Harry nodded as he saw Griphin's retreating back. "So, Lord Potter, how does that feel?" Bill said barely managing to keep a straight face. "Shut up, Bill" Harry muttered blushing, "What are you doing here?" he asked aloud. "In case you forgot, I work here Harry", Bill said cheekily, Harry rolled his eyes. "Mum was worried, she owled me about some meeting you had here and asked me to keep an eye on you." Harry nodded. "Where is Fleur?" "Right 'ere, 'arry." Fleur said, smiling at him as she followed Griphin in.

"If you will Lord Potter, let's get going." Harry nodded, and looked at Bill and Fleur, "Mum told me to remind you that you have to be home for your birthday dinner" Harry grinned. "Tell her, I will be home in time, I am going to visit Potter Manor before that." Bill glanced towards the portrait of James Potter, who was standing with Sirius Black, looking at this exchange with much interest and nodded. Fleur kissed his cheek before wishing him luck, and went to hug Bill, as she dabbed her eyes. Harry followed Griphin, out of the meeting room in the corridor to the black family meeting room.

 **Please do read and review. Happy reading.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: J.K. owns it all**

The room was covered in shades of grey and black. It looked royal, black curtains with gold embroidery hung around all the portraits, the curtains were drawn on most of them. The floor was covered with soft black carpet and the chairs were more like thrones covered in grey with gold coloured cushions. The centre of the table had an emerald for the buzzer.

As soon as Harry entered the room, the portraits hissed in disdain, one muttering that he could not believe that a descendent of the Black and Potter bloodlines, tainted it by marrying a mudblood and that his son now, was the Lord of the ancient and most noble house of Black. Before Harry could turn to look at the portrait or respond in any fashion, Griphin had reached the end of the room and wrenched open the door. Harry followed Griphin, down two flights of stairs before he saw the cart. As they journeyed in, Harry realised that they were going deeper and deeper underground. Much deeper than the Lestrange's vault, when the cart finally stopped, Harry realised that there were no dragons here to protect the vaults. As if sensing his question Griphin said "These are oldest vaults at Gringotts, they are protected by blood magic, if anyone other than the Lords or their spouses or blood tries to open the vaults; they die."

Griphin touched the ring with the Black Family Crest on the vault door and ran his finger down the vault door. As soon as he entered the vault Harry realised that it wasn't anything like his or the Lestrange's vault. He had entered a well decorated room with three doors in front of him; Griphin walked to the door at the centre and opened it, motioning Harry to walk in. The room was arched high and was full of portraits with their covers. Harry heard Sirius call from the end of the wall on his right. Sirius's portrait was standing next to the portrait of a handsome man with grey eyes and black wavy hair much like Sirius himself. Harry briefly glanced at the name of the man who was glaring at him with hatred _"Lord Orion Black"._ Harry didn't wish stay much longer, so he unstuck Sirius' portrait from the wall, covered it with a curtain and walked out of the vault. The portraits hissed and cursed him but they were no were near that blasted portrait of Walburga Black.

Harry heard Sirius and his father laugh about something, as soon as he reached the door of the Potter's meeting room. When Harry entered James gave a whoop and cheered, Harry laughed, his father it seemed was a very energetic person. "What are you laughing at?" James asked Harry.

"Nothing." Harry said shrugging.

"Have you thought about what to do with this stupid mutt's portrait" James asked, shoving Sirius playfully. Harry shook his head "Probably take it back with me to the Burrow and then once I get a place of my own, I will keep it there."

"Or you can leave him at Potter Manor. Lily hasn't seen him in years, she would be glad to meet him, just take him to the study when you get there."

"Prongsie! I knew you would come to your senses someday" Sirius said hugging James "I knew you loved me more than Red. By the way Prongsie, the study?" He wagged his eyebrows at James "Aren't you my adorable dork." James rolled his eyes, smirking slightly. Harry looked at his father and Godfather incredulously, had they always been this crazy?

"Don't worry Harry, in the end your father chose his girlfriend over his boyfriend." Charlus Potter said, smirking at Harry's expression. "I am telling you, he realises his mistake now, I am his one true love" Sirius said. Harry shook his head, smiling slightly, before crossing the room to get to the fireplace. He waved his wand and the fire blazed merrily, he found a pretty blue bowl full of floo powder on the mantelpiece. He threw some powder in the flames, stepped in and shouted "Potter Manor". As he spun through several fireplaces, Harry couldn't suppress his excitement. He was going home.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: All belongs to queen Rowling**

Harry fell off the fireplace but managed to land gracefully, in the—well, what the hell was this room? The room had white marble floor, a high ceiling, the walls and the ornately designed ceiling were white. A crystal chandelier hung at the centre, with the crystals sparkling as diamonds. The room was tastefully decorated with rich purple drapes with golden borders. There were numerous sofas, a love seat, a rocking chair, all covered in purple and gold and made of dark cherry. One wall to the right was converted to huge glass windows which provided natural light to the room and a view of the front lawns bordered by rose bushes. This room was big enough to fill half of the Dursley's home in it. The mantelpiece was decorated with four framed pictures and purple vase in the centre with floo powder. The pictures on the far right and left were of two couples on their wedding day. The picture on the far right was the picture that Harry had in his scrapbook, the picture from his parent's wedding day with his parents in the centre and a laughing Sirius and a shy Remus on either side of his parents. Harry watched, as all four posed and then Sirius said something and all three of them sandwiched a laughing Lily. On his far left however, were a man and a woman in wedding robes, the man had dark brown messy hair and hazel eyes, apart from the hair and eyes, this man looked exactly like Harry, whereas the woman was breathtakingly beautiful. Black hair, High cheekbones, stormy grey eyes, the epitome of aristocracy and grace, both the man and the woman smiled politely at him.

The picture on his right showed his father, mother and- was it him? It had to be him, as a baby. This was a very happy picture. The background was someone's backyard, a one year old Harry was sitting on James' shoulder, pulling his hair and laughing, while his mother was laughing holding his father's arm as he winced and wrestled to get Harry down. Harry smiled at the picture. He was happy once and deeply loved. This picture was a window to his life before Voldemort. He smiled again and looked to his left. He saw the same beautiful woman, look gracefully flustered, covered in flour, as she glared at two black haired boys hardly above 13 and a man with messy brown hair. One of the boys had messy black hair and hazel eyes, the other had wavy black hair, which fell gracefully on the forehead of his handsome face. Both the boys were smiling charmingly at the woman as the man presented a slightly lopsided cake to her at which the woman laughed. With a jolt Harry realised the boy with messy black hair and hazel eyes was his father, so the other black haired boy must be Sirius, only he could be that handsome; which meant that the beautiful woman and the brown haired man were his grandparents.

Harry picked up the picture where he was pulling his father's hair, staring at it intently, trying to remember this day. So lost was he in his attempt to remember the day, that he didn't register the presence of a small form in the room, it was only when the figure moved, that Harry realised that he wasn't alone and before the figure could do anything else, Harry spun around, pulling his wand out.

The figure squealed and threw itself on the floor covering its head. Harry realised a second later that the little figure was a house elf. He quickly shoved his wand in its holster and knelt down beside the elf, gently shaking her. The elf looked up and Harry saw large brown eyes and an upturned nose. He helped the scared elf sit, "You looks like my Master James, but you is not him. Your eyes are that of Mistress Lily. Is that you master Harry? Sneezy knows Master Harry, when he was little; Sneezy helped Mistress Lily with Master Harry. Master Harry was a very fussy baby." The elf called Sneezy smiled at Harry.

"Really? I can't believe I was a fussy baby. I am sorry I caused you trouble Sneezy" Harry said, trying to make Sneezy comfortable. Sneezy stared at Harry for a second before hugging him tightly "No, no, no master Harry. What is you saying? You were an adorable baby, Sneezy loves you, she really does, and so do all the other house elves."

"Other house elves?" Exactly, how many house elves were here? "Yes, other house elves, there are seven of us. We are all very young too, hardly in our adolescents. All seven of us were born around the same time, during the Christmas break of Master James' final year. Mistress Lily was celebrating Christmas at the Manor. She named all of us. I am Sneezy, and then there is Sleepy, Dopey, Bashful, Doc, Happy and Grumpy. We take care of the Manor. How long we have waited for you to return home master Harry."

Harry smiled politely at Sneezy. He was amused by the choice of names. Apparently, his mother had named the seven elves after the seven dwarves from the muggle fairytale of Snow-white. He shook his head, only his mother could come up with something like this. Sneezy was looking expectantly at Harry, Harry felt odd, what does one say to en elf that has known you as a baby, but you remember nothing about them? He looked down at Sirius' portrait, the one he had dropped as he had spun to attack Sneezy. "Err.. Sneezy, can you show me to the study. I have to put this portrait there. Dad asked me to put it there. While you are at it, can you tell me what this room is?"

Sneezy smiled a big, wide smile. "This room Master Harry is the visitor's room. This is also one of the smallest rooms in the manor." Smallest room? Harry thought incredulously, "Master Charlus used to have a lot of visitors, so the floo connection from the kitchen was moved to this room, so that the rest of the family is not disturbed by the visitors. Now if you will follow Sneezy master Harry, Sneezy would take you to the study." Harry followed Sneezy out the heavy cherry wood door and stopped dead in his tracks. He had entered a huge hall, yup; you could fit Number 4 privet drive here, no problem.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Not mine... J.K. owns it all**

Harry realised that the room he had emerged from was along one wall, to the left of the hall. Behind him were huge cherry wood double doors, with huge glass windows on either side of the double doors, allowing the sunlight in; a large crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling, sparkling in the sunlight, the ceiling itself was decorated with frescos. The floor was white marble, and the walls were white too, making the hall look well lit and spacious. Two mirrors faced each other on opposite walls, with lamps hung on both sides of the mirrors, standing below them were two small tables decorated with antique figurines. Harry stood facing two staircases made of marble, which opened into a small balcony above the hall. The walls on the sides of the staircases were lined with portraits of people; Harry took a wild guess and assumed that those portraits were his ancestors. Harry stood there gaping at it all in wonder. This was his father's home? Had things been right, Harry would have spent his childhood in this castle- manor place.

Sneezy had already climbed the stairs before she turned back to look at Harry. She walked back to Harry and pulled at his sleeve; smiling slightly at Harry's expression Sneezy promised to give him a tour after taking him to the study. She nevertheless pointed out several doors for him. On Harry's left were the doors to the Visitor's room and the drawing room. The first door to his right was the coat room and the second room had dark cherry double doors, Sneezy informed that it was the ball room. Harry followed Sneezy up the staircase, looking at all the portraits. All of them were Potters, his ancestors and they stood proud in their portraits behind a red and gold throne like chair where their wives sat, looking impressive, to some extent aristocratic. To Harry it felt as if the portraits themselves emanated power and demanded respect. The balcony was more like a landing opening to a long corridor in from of him, at the end of the corridor Harry could see another landing, with a staircase leading to the landing and another set leading away from the landing to upper floors. The corridor itself had 4 doors all made of dark cherry wood. The walls were a rich green colour with lamps adorning them. The first door to Harry's right opened to the library while the left led to the music room full of all sorts of musical instruments both magical and muggle. The second door to his left opened into the game room. Sneezy opened the second door to his right and ushered him in. The woodwork was again Dark Cherry, but this room had Gryffindor colours, the walls were red, a huge desk sat in the middle of the room, slightly to Harry's left, with a throne like chair behind it and two plush chairs in front of it all with red covers and red and gold cushions, on the right side of the door, was a wooden staircase led to a balcony facing the desk, the upper floor was lined with shelves full of books. Walls were replaced by windows except in the centre which had a large fire place on the left of the desk giving a view of a lake with sparkling blue water and the lands beyond it lined with trees. The wall behind the throne contained two portraits framed in gold placed between two lamps.

Harry knew, even before looking at the portraits, that at least one of them belonged to his parents. Harry turned to face the table. The portrait to his left belonged to his parents, it contained a throne like chair, but currently both his parents were standing before the chair. His father had his arms around his mother, who was leaning on his shoulder as she watched Harry almost apprehensively. Air was knocked out of Harry's lungs. Seeing both his parents together, made it feel too real, like this wasn't a happy dream, but a reality where he would be able to talk to his parents. Harry moved forward, gently placing Sirius' portrait on the table and moving ahead to stand directly in front of his parents portraits. He unconsciously extended a hand to touch the portrait. His mother raised her hand, Harry rested his hand against it, but felt nothing, no movement, no warmth and yet he knew that his mum was touching his hand. His mother Harry had to concede was beautiful, in this portrait, her auburn hair was tied in an elegant knot and she wore dress robes of midnight blue. His father and Harry noticed it for the first time since meeting his father's portrait was wearing simple black dress robes, much like his green ones.

Harry feasted on his mother's face, as she beamed at him, her green eyes sparkling. "Hi mum." He said with a hint of yearning in his voice. His mother's smiled wistfully at him. "Harry." She said softly "Oh my baby! Look at you! All grown up! I am so sorry Harry, I am so sorry for leaving you like that. I don't regret dying for you. I can never regret doing everything to protect you but I am sorry that you were shipped off to the Dursleys. I am sorry you never got to know Sirius or Remus, your uncles, my brothers. I am so sorry Harry, that you never knew the family that you should have and all because we trusted the wrong man. How could I be so stupid, the signs were all there. You were never happy with Peter, you never liked him holding you, you knew much before we did, we should have paid attention, I should have paid attention to my baby. I am so sorry Harry." If portraits could cry, Harry knew that his mother was sobbing, how he wished to hug his mother, to comfort her but he couldn't.

He stroked her painted face with his fingers, as if to wipe away her tears. Before he could say anything, he heard the booms of a large clock announcing that it was 2:00 p.m. already. Harry looked up, his fingers frozen on the portrait. Sneezy who had been silent till now said "Worry not Master Harry. It is the clock tower announcing the time." Clock tower? They had a clock tower? Merlin's pink knickers!

"It is almost tea time; Sneezy must go prepare some tea. What would you like to have with tea Master Harry? Master James used to love treacle tart with tea while Mistress Lily, loved the cherry pie. Should I get them both for you, Master Harry?"

So, Harry inherited his love for treacle tart from his father but he liked cherry pie all the same and he realised he really did feel famished. "That would be brilliant Sneezy, thank you." Sneezy beamed at Harry, curtseying slightly, that's when Harry noticed Sneezy's clothes. She was wearing pastel blue socks, skirt and blouse with the letter P emblazoned on the left side of her blouse in gold. He wanted to ask her about her clothes, but decided to ask it later, he wanted to talk to his mother first. The little diversion was enough to calm his mother a little. She smiled bleakly at him, looking gloomy. He smiled widely at her. "Mum, you don't have to say sorry for anything. It wasn't your fault. It was Voldemort's fault and Wormtail's. How can you even blame yourself? You cast yourself willing in front of me to save me. Without your love and protection I wouldn't be standing here talking to you. I wish things were different mum, I really do. I wish I had grown up here or at Godric's Hollow, pestering the two of you and Sirius and Remus. I wish I had siblings, maybe a little sister to tease, love and protect but mum, we cannot live off on dreams. I never thought I would be able to talk to you and now here I am. We can know each other now. It's enough. I love you mum, I love both of you and I miss you every day, but now I can talk to you, this is the best birthday of my life." Harry said grinning.

"I don't know how, but this is the first Potter who talks sense. Your son thankfully took after you Lily dear, wise beyond his age. His father and grandfather were hopeless as far as wisdom was concerned" Harry turned to his right, to the beautiful aristocratic woman, dressed in red dress robes, her jet black hair had streaks of grey and it was tied in an elegant knot too, she sat on the throne like a queen; smiling at him with all the affection a portrait could muster. His dad and granddad protested at the same time; with his grandfather plopping himself on the arm of the throne, crossing his arms across his chest and pouting, he too was wearing simple black dress robes, the mischievous glint never leaving his eyes. "Hello Harry dear, I am your grandmother, Dorea Potter."

 **AN: I am trying to describe things as I imagine them. Please tell me what more details would you like. How do you see the Potter Manor? Read and Review people.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Nope.. not mine**

Harry smiled at her; he knew his jet black hair belonged to her. "Hi grandma, I can call you grandma right?"

"You can call me anything you feel like, Gran, Granma, Granny, Gramps, just about anything. I never got the chance to meet you at all. Dragon Pox at my age almost always leads to death; your parents had just started going out. But you my dear are a precious child, a perfect blend of both your parents."

Harry blushed; he was not used to being liked by family yet. The Weasleys, Hermione, Andromeda, Luna and Neville liked him and he was yet to figure out why, he almost lead them to their deaths or caused the death of their loved ones but praise and acceptance from family was a new territory. He didn't know what to say, it turns out he didn't need to say anything.

"Hey, Harry I am kind of bored checking out the curtain you covered me with, do you mind hanging me somewhere?" Harry jumped, he had completely forgotten about Sirius. He rushed to Sirius' portrait, picking it up he looked around for a good place. The columns next to his parents' as well as grandparents' portraits were empty. Harry stuck Sirius's portrait on the column next to his parents' portrait. He noticed that this portrait of Sirius had a black throne like seat, made of white- wait! Was the seat made of bones? Meanwhile Sirius had already abandoned his portrait and walked off to his parents' portrait. He was currently busy hugging his mother and consoling her, telling her it was not hers or James' fault that he ended up in Azkaban for twelve years. "We were betrayed flower, you, me everyone. But I am sorry for acting rashly, I should have gone to Dumbledore, I should have stayed with Harry. Had I not been so rash, Harry would have grown up knowing all about you and his legacy. Can you forgive me for that?"

"There is nothing to forgive Sirius. It wasn't your fault either. James told me all about how you apologised over and over when you first discovered that both your portraits were in the same building and you found his portrait. Thank you so much Sirius, for everything that you did for Harry."

"Hey, he is my godson; I never got to spoil him rotten. He is not much an arrogant toerag either." Sirius said pushing Lily's hair out of her face and hugging her like an elder brother. She laughed as his dad rolled his eyes. Harry looked on, realising now that love indeed was the most powerful thing in the world. It was as terrible as it was beautiful and this was his family; the family he was supposed to have. Sirius meanwhile had shrieked "Mrs. P!" and hurtled on to his grandparents' portrait. For the first time, since Harry had seen her aristocratic portrait, did he see his grandmother blush and giggle. Strangely, she didn't appear like someone who would giggle. She looked like royalty, royal people don't giggle.

"Just as beautiful as you were the day I saw you for the first time." Sirius said, bowing low to kiss her knuckles, his grandmother blushed immediately, "How I missed your beautiful face Mrs. P."

"Sirius Black, you need to stop flirting with my wife or I will have you moved to some other location" his grandfather threatened but without any hint of meaning business.

"You know you won't Papa P. You would miss me terribly and your son would be heartbroken. You can't separate me from Prongsiepie; we just met after so many years."

"I sure don't mind letting him go" James muttered "Merlin! I had forgotten how crazy that mutt was, age did not have any effect on his craziness. Thank Godric, he loves you as a sister Lily"

His mother rolled her eyes and then grinned at Harry. "Well, that's how crazy it is. Welcome to your family; welcome home Harry." Harry felt his heart swell. His smile threatened to split his face in two. He was home; he was with his family.

At Lily's words Sirius turned towards Harry and grinned cheekily at him. "Well pup. You wanted to know your family, now looks like a good time to start doing it."

Suddenly, Harry felt unsure, what could he ask them? Growing up he had so many questions, now he was blank. His mind couldn't think of a single thing he wanted to ask his parents or grandparents. He turned the throne like chair to face the portraits and sat down. Elbows on his knees, clasping and unclasping his hands, thinking about what to ask; he looked up at his parents, at a complete loss for words. Sirius sniggered, his dad grinned and his mother smiled at him understandingly.

"Well, our lives were pretty mundane Harry" she said looking at him intently, "I would like to know more about your life. Was Petunia good to you? I remember the first time Leonis saw you; he came back lamenting the fact that you did not display proper Potter cockiness. According to him, you were too thin, scrawny little thing, as he put it, and too polite. He laughed at the fact that you freaked out when you saw a Phoenix go up in flames. He also told us a lot of things, but I want to hear it all from you, and you need to start from where your memory starts. What is your first memory Harry?"

"That would have to be you and dad, mum. When I was thirteen, dementors were guarding the school to protect us and catch Sirius. Whenever they got too close to me, I could hear you begging Voldemort to spare my life. That I was just a baby; and I could hear dad, asking you to take me and run while he tried to hold Voldemort back; last Christmas I witnessed the entire night of your murder from his point of view, from his memory. I think that would be my first memory." Harry had avoided looking at any of the portraits. "Oh Harry!" his mother said softly. Harry looked up to see five solemn faces, all of them looked pained, horrified at what he remembered. Harry had never even told Ron and Hermione about that night and its memories but he wanted to come clean with his parents. He wouldn't hide anything from them. He shook his head.

 **AN: Read and Review please.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: No way I am that creative. Queen Rowling for the win!**

"Look, I did not have an easy life. I never had an easy life. It's just way the way it is. I plan on having a good life now. I would tell you everything honestly, but promise me that none of you will fret about me. It's all in the past. We can't change time, or I would have made sure that you are all alive but I can't so we will talk about it but we won't worry about it. Do you swear?"

"But-"

"No buts, grandma. Or I won't say anything about anything."

Dorea Potter glared at Harry as he smirked. "There is the Potter cockiness. I don't know what Leonis was talking about." His grandfather said chuckling. "Fine Harry, we won't fret about anything. We are dead as it is. What can we do anyhow?" Harry grinned at his grandfather. He looked at his grandmother who huffed but agreed; his father nodded, so did Sirius but Lily looked torn. "Mum-"

"Don't Harry, it's just difficult for me. You are my baby! I was supposed to protect you-"

"And you did protect me mum. You died so I can live but no one guaranteed an easy life. You did everything you could mum. But my destiny took me elsewhere. And it's all gone now. It's been like this for two months. We are rebuilding our world; we are looking forward to peace and happiness. Something all of you fought for. Please mum, don't blame yourself or worry about failing me. You never failed me; you can't do that now either."

James put his arm around Lily's shoulder comforting her. She looked at Harry, shook her head and nodded, giving him a small smile. Harry grinned "So what do you want to know?"

"Is the famous Harry Potter dating someone or is he enjoying his fame by obliging several fans?" Sirius quipped to ease the tension. Harry blushed, ducking his head to avoid eye contact. "OH MY GOD!" Sirius shrieked "Prongsie, your son is dating someone. Look at him all grown up" Sirius said, wiping fake tears from his eyes. Harry rolled his eyes but smirked, his dad and granddad grinned at him while his mum and grandma looked positively pleased.

"Oh! Who is she?" Lily asked clapping her hands and jumping up. "What does she look like? Does she make you happy Harry? How did you meet her? When did you fall in love with her? How old is she? Tell me everything about her. My son, all grown up. Oh! This is so exciting!" Dorea Potter nodded vigorously to everything Lily said, looking very pleased.

"Mum!" Harry said blushing and grinning "Slow down. I will start with her name and then tell you all about her is that okay?" Lily and Dorea nodded eagerly. James, Sirius and Charlus looked amused and Harry laughed. Just then the clock struck three and he jumped, seriously, the clock tower was a little freaky. Before he could say anything, a loud crack told him that Sneezy was there with his tea. Harry got up and turned when several loud cracks echoed in the study at the same time. Harry now was not facing one but seven house elves and all of them were looking at him happily.

An elf wearing a pastel yellow shirt, shorts and socks stepped up. His shirt had a gold P emblazoned on the left side too, in fact all the house elves had a golden P on the left side of their shirts. The elf in yellow with black tennis ball like eyes and upturned nose bowed low and introduced himself as "Doc", the head house elf. He then went on to introduce the others, the elf with bright blue eyes, long nose and dressed in pastel green skirt, blouse and socks was "Dopey". The one with black eyes, upturned nose and wearing red shorts, shirt and socks was "Bashful", the one with brown eyes, button nose and dressed in pink skirt, blouse and socks was "Sleepy"; Sneezy stood next to Sleepy and waved merrily at Harry. The next in line was Happy with black eyes, button nose and was wearing Indigo shirt, shorts and socks. Grumpy had green eyes that reminded Harry of Dobby, an upturned nose and was dressed in deep purple shorts, shirt and socks.

Harry smiled politely at all of them but he knew that all of them were free. They were all wearing colourful, proper clothes and he wondered why they would stay at an empty manor, working so hard to keep it clean and pristine. He looked at Sneezy as he asked this question but it was Doc who answered.

"We live here by choice. We have lived here by choice for generations. Artemis Potter who lived 200 years ago was a free soul and believed in the freedom of all including house elves. He freed all his house elves but knew that forcing them out of the Manor would kill them, so he gave them a choice to stay at the Manor and continue to work but not as slaves. No house elf was allowed to wear the Toga marking an elf's enslavement. They were not bound to the Potters anymore and thus could not be ordered around. He told the elves, our ancestors, that they were servants with their own minds and consciences and they were free to treat him as an equal being too. Of course, our ancestors never agreed to treating their master as equals but we are not enslaved either. If need be and a master is being stubborn, we can easily over ride a direct order and do what we feel could benefit the master.

Your ancestors Master Harry taught house elves to stand tall and free. We stay here because we love this family, the Manor is our home and we would never leave it. From what we hear Master Harry, you treat all magical creatures with great respect, we would be proud to serve you."

Harry was fascinated with this piece of history. His ancestors were badass, challenging and breaking tradition. Hermione would be so proud to meet these house elves. Sneezy meanwhile had placed his tea, treacle tart and cherry pie neatly on the desk and bowed. Doc enquired if Harry would be staying for dinner. When Harry politely declined saying that he already had plans he nodded and told Harry that should Harry ever need him all he had to do was call his name or any other elf's name and they would appear. Despite being free, the elves of the family had saved this link with their masters. One by one the elves left with a loud crack in their wake, Sneezy hugged Harry's knees, making him promise that he will visit soon and finish the tour of the manor and disapparated. Harry turned back to the portraits when he felt someone tug his sleeve; Grumpy was standing next to Harry, blushing slightly.

"If Master Harry doesn't mind" squeaked the tiny elf, almost afraid of what he was going to say, "Grumpy would like to hug Master Harry too." Harry laughed; he could hear his grandparents', parents' and Sirius' laughter. He knelt down and gave Grumpy a bear hug. The elf looked mightily pleased; bowing again he left with a loud crack. Harry walked over, served himself tea from the steaming pot, took a slice of Cherry pie and a couple of tarts on his plate and carried it to the other side of the desk. He summoned a tiny table from the window side, and placed his plate and saucer there before settling in his chair and looking up at the portraits.

 **AN: R & R people.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Queen Rowling!**

"So where were we?" Harry asked, sipping his tea.

"You were about to tell us about this mystery girlfriend of yours." Sirius chirped.

"Oh that!" Harry blushed again, Lily made an impatient noise and Harry blushed some more. This was really odd! He felt awkward telling his parents and grandparents and Godfather about the love of his life. Harry ducked his head, shaking it slightly before saying "Her name is Ginny Weasley."

"No way! Not Molly and Arthur's daughter, Ginny Weasley!" Sirius exclaimed "Merlin's pants! All of you stayed at Grimmauld place together. By the way, good choice Harry, that girl is spitfire." Sirius and Harry grinned at each other.

"I remember Molly and Arthur," his mother said thoughtfully "They had a son Harry's age, what was his name? Rupert?"

"Ron. His name is Ron, mum and he is my best friend. Actually more than my best friend, he stuck with me through everything. He is family now."

"So, Ginny is Ron's baby sister" James asked grinning.

"Didn't he attack you for stealing away his sister? Elder brothers are mighty protective."

"Dad, Ginny has 6- had 6 elder brothers, one died during the war. I have been threatened by all of them, and a second time as all of them felt that they had to threaten me on behalf of the sixth brother. And I survived. But it was pretty easy because they had already adopted me as family, so they weren't all that scary." Harry grinned.

"So what is she like?" Lily asked keenly.

"She is really great. No Sirius, I did not notice her till I was 16 and she was 15. I didn't even know I liked her. She had always been Ron's kid sister for me but then in sixth year, she started dating my dorm mate, and Ron and I found them kissing behind a tapestry as we returned from practice and I wanted to kill something. That's when I knew that I liked her. It took me a lot of time after that to ask her out."

"So, how did you ask her out? Your dad came up with the most ridiculous ideas to ask me out."

"I didn't ask her out, she is a chaser and I was the team captain. But I had detention during the quidditch finals and so I missed the game-"

"WHAT!" James, Sirius, Charlus yelled together.

"How can you miss the final match?

"I mean I agree that you had to be a troublemaker but couldn't you at least save it for after the match"

"How can my grandson be stupid enough to risk serving detention during the quidditch finals?"

"What were you thinking Harry?"

"Well, obviously Pads he wasn't thinking, even we were careful enough to steer clear off pranks near a match-"

"HEY!" Harry shouted, "I didn't do it on purpose alright! I didn't prank someone, I don't go getting into trouble; it usually finds me. I just did something really horrible, I will tell you later, and I deserved the punishment." Harry said looking ashamed. "Now should I continue?"

Sirius, his grandfather and father looked like they wanted to say a lot more on the subject but one look from Lily and Dorea silenced all of them. "Continue Harry" Dorea added kindly.

Harry shook his head "So, anyways, I missed it and served detention, Ginny played seeker instead of me and when I returned to the tower the fat lady wouldn't tell me what the outcome of the match was. Well, when I entered, the common room was alive and noisy. We had won the quidditch cup as well as the house cup." Harry grinned as James, Sirius and Charlus cheered, Lily and Dorea rolled their eyes but smiled fondly.

"Well, there I was standing in the noise, and Ginny came running to hug me and I kissed her, in front of the entire house, I just kissed her." Harry said, covering his face with his hands and shaking his head in disbelief as Sirius and James wolf whistled, Lily smacked James' arm, Charlus looked on amused and Dorea shook her head.

"Well moral of the story is, that after that we just started going out. Though I had to end it at the end of the year, after Dumbledore's funeral because I was going on a mission and I needed to protect her. We got together a month after the war. She is going back to school in September. The castle is still being renovated but it should be functional by then."

"So, she waited for you through the war?" Lily asked; Harry nodded.

"And you haven't taken her out on a date yet?" Harry shook his head "Well, I never had to. She is not really into Madam Puddifoot's; in fact she hates it more than I do."

Dorea made a sound which was somewhere between exasperation and annoyance. Lily exchanged a look with her and shook her head.

"Harry James Potter! Here is an amazing girl who readily sat out an entire war, hoping, believing, praying that the two of you would have a happy ending. You have been in a relationship with her for a total of 6 months or more and you haven't taken her out on a date yet? You are worse than James when it comes to women."

"But mum-"

"No, don't you dare mum me. This is no way to treat your girlfriend."

"You know I used to own the Dragon Fire restaurant, I think a friend of mine is running it now, I am sure she would be happy to reserve a table for you"

"We still own the restaurant Grandma. The current manager, Mr. Shelby has offered to permanently reserve a table under my name."

"Well that's settled then, you can take her for a date there"

Harry gaped at his grandmother and smiled, "That's a great idea Grandma, thanks."

"Harry, buy her a pretty dress, and some jewellery to go with it, we have a lot of jewellery in the vault and here in the Manor too, and you can match it with the dress and gift it to her. All of it would be hers anyhow, should you choose to marry her. Treat her like the princess she is Harry." His mother said. Harry smiled.

"And Harry if it's not too much to ask, I would like to meet her. Not today or tomorrow but before she goes back to school. Think that would be okay for you?"

"Sure mum, anything." Harry checked his watch, the watch that once belonged to Fabian Prewett. It was almost 5:00. He got up reluctantly. "Ugh Mum, Dad, I should get going. I am currently staying at the Burrow with the Weasleys, they will get worried. I will come back tomorrow and tell you about everything."

"So, how do you plan on going back Harry?" His father asked

"Umm… probably walk out of the perimeter and apparate from there."

"You are a Potter, the anti apparition wards are for non-family people. You can apparate in and out of the Manor at will, you are Lord Potter now. I would however suggest, getting a floo connection with the Burrow. You can go straight to the ministry from here; put in an application to connect the floo network with the Burrow. It shouldn't take more than a few hours, you can apply today and it would be done by tomorrow."

"Okay, I will see you tomorrow then. I will be here after breakfast."

"We will wait for you; Harry."

"I am looking forward to seeing you again too. Love you all"

And with that Harry turned on the spot, leaving behind a soft pop.

 **AN: I could end the story here or continue writing about the tour of the Manor, Ginny meeting everyone else, Harry's wedding and about the next gen, till we reach the epilogue mentioned in Deathly Hallows. Please give me your opinions and ideas on what is it that you want. I will wait for a week, because I need time to write further chapters, if I don't get any response. I will end the story here.**

 **Hope you enjoy reading it. Read and Review please. Happy Reading.**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Hello! As always the Potter universe belongs to queen Rowling.**

 **Potterphile: The Potter household prior to these many elves had six house elves. Four females and 2 males. Since the elves do not follow wizarding or muggle marriage laws, they only get together to produce a future generation of workers. The older house elves had been in the household since the birth of James' grandfather. When the older elves detected that they would soon be too old to work, they got together to bring a new generation of elves. Thus seven were born, due to some stroke of luck around the same time.**  
 **The older house elves were alive enough to teach the new ones their chores, responsibilities and histories but died more out of heartbreak than age in the years following James and Lily's murders. I hope that answers your questions.**

Harry woke up at the crack of dawn next day and dressed at top speed. He ran down to the kitchen without incident. Ginny was the only one up, she was sitting at the kitchen table, reading a book, with a mug of coffee in her hand. She looked up and smiled at him before going back to her book. Harry poured some coffee for himself before settling down next to her, pecking her forehead softly.

"Why are you up so early, Gin?" She smiled at him guiltily.

"Nightmare." She said looking into her cup. "I was back with Tom, then the Carrows were torturing me and then I saw your dead body in Hagrid's arms and I can't sleep. The dreams don't go away. I woke up screaming. It's a good thing I put a silencing charm on my door." She covered her face with her hands, exhausted of the nightmares and the pain.

Harry put his arm around her shoulder and held her, she leaned in to rest her head on his shoulders. They sat in peace, till Harry felt her soft, rhythmic breath, Ginny had fallen asleep in his arms. Harry scooped her up gently and took her to her bedroom. Harry laid her gently on her bed and tried to free himself without jostling her much, but she held on to his T-shirt, so Harry moved Ginny so that she was resting on his chest and slid on her bed, falling asleep moments later. He was later woken up by Ginny who was hissing frantically for Harry to wake up.

"What? What happened?" He asked groggily.

"Well, I heard mum go up to your room, obviously you are not there, she is going to come in here to check on me and ask me if I know where you are. You have to go."

Harry jumped out of bed and turned on the spot, disappearing from Ginny's room to the Burrow's kitchen. Thankfully the kitchen was empty, he checked the time; it was a little over 7:00. He had just poured himself a cup of tea when Mrs. Weasley entered the kitchen with Ginny in tow.

"Oh! There you are, Harry. Where were you? I was worried."

"I woke up a little early, just thought I would go for a walk. Would you like some tea?"

"Yes well tha-aachoo!" Mrs. Weasley sneezed and rubbed her nose sniffing slightly before sneezing again. Harry and Ginny looked at the Weasley matriarch in alarm as she started showing signs of a cold. Ginny ran to the kitchen cabinet to get a vial of Pepper Up potion as Harry handed the hot tea to Mrs. Weasley. Even when it was just common cold that the pepper up potion had cured instantly Harry felt that Mrs. Weasley should take a break and all but forced her to sit down while he made breakfast.

"Are you sure Harry dear?" She asked fretting a little "I know you have had to cook for yourselves while you were on the run but-"

"I have been cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner for a family of four, which included Dudley, since the age of five, Mrs. Weasley. I can cook decent food and these past two months I learnt how to cook magically. I will be fine." Harry said without turning back to look at Molly and Ginny Weasley who were exchanging horrified looks with each other. Harry had always been tight lipped about his life with his muggle relatives. Molly knew that the Dursleys starved Harry and didn't treat him right all over, but to force a five year old to cook food, risking burns and cuts was too much.

"Did you ever burn yourself, Harry?" she asked in a shaky voice. Harry's back was ramrod straight. He closed his eyes, trying to keep his voice calm. He had let slip a lot, he didn't want to talk about it anymore. "Once or twice. But I was fine. Don't worry about it." He said nonchalantly, shrugging slightly. He really was fine, his past was over, and he wanted to start all over now. Before he knew it, Mrs. Weasley had pulled him in a bone crushing hug, as she cried a little on his shoulder. Harry looked at Ginny over Mrs. Weasley's head; Ginny looked ready to murder someone. She gave him a furious look before stomping out of the kitchen to the backyard. Harry sighed; he would have to talk to her before he left. Mrs. Weasley had released him and was now brushing his shoulders. "It's alright dear, I feel fine. I can make breakfast now." She said smiling at him.

"No; you certainly won't make breakfast. You work yourself too hard. Just sit back. Breakfast is almost ready."

Harry had just set the sausages on the table, when George, Charlie (who would be returning to the Irish reserve he had transferred to after the war), Percy and Mr. Weasley walked in.

"Smells delicious Molly, I have to say I do love Sausages, eggs and toast."

"Well Arthur, you would have to thank Harry for the breakfast; he made it to give me a break." She said with a glare towards her sons who never cooked despite being decent cooks themselves. As everyone settled down for breakfast Harry walked out to the backyard to call Ginny for breakfast. Ginny was sitting by the pond, throwing tiny pebbles in it. She said nothing as Harry took a seat beside her and looked at her guiltily.

"I am not mad at you Harry." She sighed finally, "Maybe a little. I am just mad because life has been so unfair to you. You are a wonderful, caring person who would happily give away all his happiness, even his life for the ones he loved. Why must life be so cruel to you? It's a miracle that you don't hate the world for being cruel to you."

Harry smiled, before leaning in and nudging her side with his side. "I can't hate everyone Ginny for what happened to me. It wasn't their fault. Yes, a lot of people have been unfair to me but in the end I have amazing friends like Ron and Hermione who risked their lives to be with me. I have your family that has accepted me as their own. I have Neville and Luna who believed in me and stood by me, and didn't give up on me when I wasn't there. I have Teddy, who loves me, I think he does. I have Andromeda who treats me as her own child. Most of all I have you, the most amazing woman in this world. Did I ever tell you that I thought about you when I was facing my death? You are my anchor to life Ginny. You held on to me, without knowing when or if I would ever return. And here is a secret; at the Potter Manor, there are portraits of every single Potter, including my grandparents and parents and I added Sirius' portrait there too. I am finally getting a chance to know my family. I would rather have this than the fake love and concern evil dark Lords have."

Harry smiled to himself, and then glanced at Ginny who was staring at him with a blazing expression. She launched herself at Harry, knocking him down, on his back, as she kissed him fiercely. Harry grinned as he kissed her back. They resurfaced after a while for air, he laughed and she grinned at him. "If I knew I would be treated like this, I would have asked the world to be a bit more unfair to me" he teased. Ginny rolled her eyes, before smacking his arm; she got off him and stood up. Harry followed suit, hand in hand they walked back to the Burrow. As soon as Harry entered the kitchen, he heard a happy shriek, Andromeda and Molly were watching George throw Teddy in the air and catch him, Mr. Weasley, Charlie and Percy had already left for work. Teddy, whose hair was a vivid magenta, was laughing. Ginny grinned at Harry before slipping in next to her mother and pulling a plate of sausages to her; Harry sat next to Andromeda, who gave him an excited smile, as he helped himself to some eggs and sausages.

"So how did it go?" Andromeda asked, barely keeping her excitement at bay "I have been dying to ask you this since last night's party, but I figured you wouldn't want to discuss it with everyone. Anyway, did you meet them?"

Harry rolled his eyes, George was now bouncing Teddy in his arms and Molly was giving him her undivided attention, only Ginny was busy eating her breakfast. "Way to kill my surprise, Andromeda. I was waiting for Ron and Hermione and a Weasley dinner to break out the news."

"And how were you planning to explain your constant disappearance to Molly and the others?"

"I didn't think about that! Anyway, George, Mrs. Weasley; I went to the Potter Manor yesterday. Actually I went to Gringotts first, I met my dad's and granddad's and several ancestors' portraits there. They asked me to visit the Manor, to meet the portraits of my mum and grandma and other Potter matriarchs. I also met Sirius' portrait and moved it to Potter Manor and I would probably be going back a lot to meet them."

Mrs. Weasley smiled at him; George gave him an odd expression. "Can we make portraits of dead people now?" he asked with a hopeful gleam in his eyes.

"Well you can, but Fred will not remember you or his true nature. He would only look like Fred. Portraits which preserve the essence of a subject require the blood of the subject as well. It is the blood which helps the subject remember its life and identity. Families like the Blacks and Potters, get baby portraits made which grows with the baby, in case of marriage, the spouse's blood is added to the portrait, with a change in the background of the portrait and instruction. If a partner dies, the portrait stops aging, so that when the other dies, the couple in the portrait would be of the same age, though the portrait of the one that dies later, will remember everything."

The light went out from George's eyes, but before he could mope anymore, Teddy wiggled his finger in George's ear, making George laugh. Harry looked away as Mrs. Weasley dabbed her eyes and Ginny pushed her food around. Andromeda however, smacked her forehead hard; Harry looked at her in alarm. "Remus and Dora left me a vial each of their blood. It should be enough for two portraits, Dora planned on having one portrait at my home and the other at yours, so that they could look over Teddy, should something happen to them during the war. Oh! How could I forget this? She left the vials with me the night she-, the night she-"Andromeda choked, unable to finish her sentence.

"So, will Remus and Dora remember Teddy?" Ginny asked.

Andromeda nodded, "I don't know when they extracted their blood, but they would remember everything till the day they took out their blood. Since the portraits were not made in time, they won't grow with the portraits or remember things after the day their blood parted from their bodies but they will remember enough. If you will excuse me, I will go and get the portraits made right now, it won't take more than a week to finish it off completely." Andromeda walked up to George and kissed Teddy's forehead who was now sporting Turquoise hair and extending his arms towards his grandmother. She walked to the fireplace, before turning guiltily towards Harry. "I know it's a lot to ask but can you please look after Teddy for today? I will come collect him tonight or tomorrow morning, I don't think I will be able to look after him and arrange for the portraits."

"I would love to have Teddy for the day. I guess I can take him with me to the Potter Manor, if you don't mind that is. Is he old enough to be taken out with side along apparition?"

"That would be lovely Harry, I think he would enjoy Potter Manor, and yes, he is old enough for side along apparition, I have taken him with me a few times, but he gets really fussy when you do that, it would be better if you take him through floo."

"I would have flooed there, but sadly, the Manor is not connected to the Burrow, I filled in an application yesterday, but since everyone at the ministry is overworked, they told me that it would take at least a week for the Manor to be connected with the Burrow."

"Oh well! You can take him along. Just make sure you have adequate distraction for him when he starts acting difficult."

"I will take care of that. You go ahead and get the portraits made. Don't worry about Teddy."

"Harry I can take care of Teddy here. Ginny and George would help me out too." Mrs. Weasley said as soon as Andromeda disappeared in the emerald flames.

"No, Mrs. Weasley. You need rest. You work way too hard. And I don't want to burden George right now, he has just started with his plans of re-opening the shop and Lee would be visiting sometime later, he told me that much last night. Ginny has to go out for lunch with Luna, as well as shop for her school supplies. No. Don't cancel your plans." He said as soon as he detected protests from George and Ginny. Mrs. Weasley looked trouble. "You know what Mrs. Weasley; take the day off. Just go relax. Sleep a little more. I will send lunch with the house elves who would also help you with other chores. Just keep a list of chores ready and they will take care of it."

"That is really sweet of you Harry. Thank you."

"It's nothing, Mrs. Weasley really." Harry got placing his plate in the sink and giving Mrs. Weasley a quick side hug, before walking over to George who was busy showing Teddy a fake wand which turned into a parrot with a squack. Teddy would close his eyes at the loud squack but laugh amusedly at the parrot. George grinned at Harry, "Hey Harry, Moonspawn here has the makings of a great trouble maker."

"George, did you just call my Godson; Moonspawn?"

"I think I did." George said, with the ghost of his evil grin.

"Why? Why would you call him Moonspawn?"

"Because he is Moony's son! Get it?"

Harry, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley burst out laughing. "George; you could have called him Moonbeam." Ginny said sticking her tongue out to her elder brother. "Or little Moony" Harry added. George rolled his eyes. "That kid would face a lot of ridicule if we call him Moonbeam."

"He would be picked at a lot if you call him Moonspawn, Georgie." Ginny reminded him.

"Well I like little Moony. He could be a neo Marauder- Little Moony. Thanks Harry"

Harry grinned as he high fived George, before taking Teddy in his arms. Teddy gurgled at Harry, sucking his fist, as his hair turned black and eyes bright green. Harry shook his head, as he walked over to give Ginny a quick hug and kiss on the forehead. He hugged Mrs. Weasley reminding her to keep her list of chores ready as he would be sending a house elf soon. Picked up Teddy's bag from the kitchen counter and walked out of the kitchen towards the field, beyond the protective enchantments of the Burrow.

 **AN: As always, Happy reading. Please do read and review. I have decided on continuing with the fic. I would appreciate it greatly if you could put in your views and opinions. Should Remus and Dora be placed at Potter Manor for instance? If yes, then where? In Teddy's nursery/ future room or in the study with the others?**


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: All of it belongs to Rowling.**

True to Andromeda's words, Teddy started bawling as soon as Harry landed in the visitor's room of the Manor. For a baby hardly reaching Harry's knee, Teddy sure had a strong set of lungs. Harry was sure, that Teddy's wails would be carried down all the way to the study. Sighing Harry took off his glasses and waved them in front of Teddy, who immediately stopped crying to reach out to the glinting object. Harry let Teddy throw off his glasses, this distraction gave him enough time to summon Teddy's rattler from his bag. Teddy gave a shout of glee, before grabbing his rattler and sucking it promptly. As he put on his glasses Harry grinned looking down at Teddy. It really was so damn easy to distract babies. Before he could take another step, a purple mass came flying through the door and hugged Harry's leg.

"Master Harry! You are back! I knew you would come back, all of us were afraid that you won't come back, but you did!" Grumpy hugged Harry's leg happily again before letting go. His smile grew wider as he saw Teddy who was sporting Harry's hair and eyes, looking uncannily like baby Harry.

"Who is this young one, Master Harry? Master Harry, are you coming here to live with us with mistress and young Master Potter?"

Harry blushed at the idea of a future mistress Potter and young master Potter. He could almost see Ginny chasing two black haired boys on toy broomsticks. "No Grumpy, this young one here is little Teddy Lupin, he is my godson and a very gifted wizard. He is a metamorphmagus; he has just morphed his looks to look like me."

"Oh! If you want master, we can look after young master Teddy for you. House elves come with a natural instinct to look after babies."

"No, that would be fine, Grumpy. However, if it's not much trouble to you, do you think you could go to the Burrow for a day, with some lunch and help Mrs. Weasley out with some household chores? I know you are not bound to me or anything and this is purely your choice."

Grumpy smiled "Anything for you Master Harry. I will go inform Doc and then help Mrs. Weezly. It is no trouble at all. Someone here will be able to handle my chores."

"Thank you so much Grumpy." Harry said with a smile, the house elf grinned at him before disappearing with a loud crack. Teddy, who had been silently observing Grumpy with great interest, gave a start at the crack, hitting Harry's nose with his rattler.

"Ow Teddy!" Harry said, rubbing his nose with his free hand, as Teddy laughed swaying his rattler in front of Harry's face. Talking softly to Teddy, who cooed and tried to respond with gibberish Harry led Teddy to the study. As soon as Harry entered the study he heard his dad say "Oh great, he is here! I will go call dad and Sirius." Harry turned in time to watch his dad leave his portrait; his mother and grandmother were smiling excitedly at him; that smile however faltered when they saw Teddy in Harry's arm. Dumping the baby bag on the desk, Harry walked up to the chair and turned it to face the portraits with a flick of his wand. Keeping his back to his mother and grandmother, he flicked his wand again, to summon a chair and transfigure it into a baby cot. Satisfied with his work, he finally turned around to see the horrified faces of his mother and grandmother while his father, grandfather and Sirius were eyeing Teddy with apprehension. Harry cleared his throat loudly, but before he could say anything-

"Harry James Potter! You did NOT tell us that you have a child! What did you do? Ginny is hardly of age! This is Ginny's child right? This is not some illegitimate child you had while you went into hiding. Answer me will you!" Harry watched as his grandmother walked to his parents' portrait to calm his mother down. Harry didn't know what to feel, how can his mother believe that he would have an affair with someone else when he loved Ginny with his soul and how can she ever believe that he would do something like this to Ginny. The choice of being a mother would always reside with Ginny because she had to go through the pregnancy and he wanted her to be prepared for it, and he would never abandon his child for anything. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realised that his family knew nothing about him, people his age did stupid things, look at Dumbledore himself; he was friends with Grindlewald.

Harry cleared his throat again, "This is Teddy Lupin, my Godson. He is a metamorphmagus and right now the little bugger has morphed himself to look like me." He looked at Teddy who was now drooling all over Harry's shoulder.

"Lupin? Did you just say Lupin? As in your uncle Moony, Remus Lupin's son?" Harry nodded glumly, keeping his eyes on Teddy who was now dozing off on his shoulder.

"YES!" Sirius and James shouted together, pumping their fists in the air, Teddy stirred but didn't wake up; Harry turned his back on them and put a sleeping Teddy in his cot.

"So, he finally married someone. That is great. I wish I was there to plan his wedding, it would have happened here, at the Manor." His mother said, but he didn't look back, he fished Teddy's stuffed wolf out of the bag, he didn't want to turn back and tell them that Remus Lupin was no more.

"Do we know his bride?" His father asked.

"I think I do Prongs; if little Teddy here is a metamorphmagus I know he finally gave in. Tonks had been in love with him before I died, I tried arguing with him but you know how he is or rather was. He didn't think he deserved her; more like she deserved someone young, healthy and whole." Sirius snorted.

"But who is Tonks? The only Tonks I remember was Ted Tonks, the one Andromeda married; they had a daughter- OH MY GOD!" His mother shrieked.

"What? What is it?" James demanded.

"He married Andromeda's daughter. Don't you remember James? She was a metamorphmagus; she had bubblegum pink hair when we met her."

"Are we talking about Cygnus' daughter, Andromeda, the one who married a muggleborn?" Dorea asked with interest.

"The very same aunt Dori." Sirius replied. "By the way Harry, where is that stupid wolf and little Dora? Why didn't he come with you to meet us? Afraid that we would take the mickey out of him?" Sirius laughed.

Harry didn't reply; he kept staring at a sleeping Teddy whose hair was slipping back to turquoise now that he was asleep clutching his stuffed wolf. He felt guilt rip his heart out, how will he tell them that they were dead? He didn't think he had it in him to be the bearer of bad news.

"Harry? Is everything alright?" Sirius asked again.

"Harry? Where are Remus and his wife? I want to see him again." His father said.

"Harry Potter, turn around right now and tell us where the two of them are, what happened to them? Did they get injured during the battle? Are they at Mungo's? Is that why you are looking after Teddy?"

Harry closed his eyes as he turned to face his family, he could hear his mother and grandmother gasp. His father and Sirius swore softly and his grandfather sighed before saying, "They are no more, they died didn't they?" Harry nodded, trying really hard to not break down in front of his family. Taking a few deep breaths, Harry opened his eyes slowly; Sirius was sitting on his chair, his head in his hands. His mother was sobbing in his father's shoulder, who had silent tears leaking down his eyes, his grandmother sat with her head bowed down, while his grandfather gripped the back of her chair. Harry threw himself down on his chair, staring glumly at his shoes.

"How? When? How did they die?" Sirius asked after what looked like an eternity.

Harry looked up to see that all five of them were looking at him solemnly. "I don't really know since I was fighting elsewhere, but it was during the final battle this May. I know that Remus had left Tonks and Teddy with Andromeda, but Tonks came anyway. From what Mr. Weasley says and he was the one who saw them die." Harry paused to take a deep breath, "Remus was duelling Dolohov while, Tonks was duelling Bellatrix. It was going fine, till Tonks narrowly missed the killing curse from Bellatrix, this distracted Remus, giving Dolohov time to throw the killing curse at him. Tonks saw the curse aimed at Remus and tried to protect him, giving Bellatrix a chance to throw the killing curse at Tonks. It was just a confusion of jets of lights and then Remus and Tonks were on the floor, on top of each other, dead."

Sirius swore loudly, Lily was sobbing harder, James who was holding her looked heartbroken even his grandparents looked sad. All six of them collapsed into silence, broken by Lily's sniffs.

"So, you are Teddy's legal guardian now?" His grandmother asked in an attempt to alleviate the grief engulfing them. Harry looked up and smiled at her, shaking his head. "No, Andromeda is his legal guardian but I participate as much as I can in his life. After everything that she has lost, I didn't think taking Teddy away from her would be fair, plus I have a career to build. I don't know if I am ready to be a parent." His grandmother nodded as Harry continued, "She left him with me today because she had to go-" Harry stopped, his eyes widening.

"What is it Harry?" His grandmother asked.

"She is gone to get Remus and Tonks' portraits made. Tonks left her with enough blood for two portraits, on is to reside at Andromeda's place and the other at my place. Since, I am going to come here to live with you. Tonks and Remus would be coming here to live with you too." Harry finished smiling broadly. Everyone smiled but they really would have preferred a living Tonks and Remus.

"Harry, weren't you going to tell us about your life today? We told you we want to know everything." His grandfather said grinning slightly for successfully changing the topic. Harry blushed, he didn't know if he wanted to talk about himself at all, he would much rather know everything about them.

"I know I said I would, but I know nothing about my family. Do you think you could tell me about you too?"

"We will, in due course, pretty much your whole life; we would keep on telling you little things about us. How I met your grandmother and fell in love with her, about your father's childhood, family trees. Everything that you want to know; but before that tell us about you. The people who took you in, how were they, how was your childhood. We have heard so much from Leonis about your years at Hogwarts. We would like to know about all of it."

"You are not going to give up are you?"

His grandfather grinned at him and shook his head. Harry sighed, "Okay, what do you want to know?"

"How did my sister treat you? She hates magic, I believe she had a son your age, were you friends with him at least?"

Harry looked down at his shoes uncomfortable beyond belief. Then taking a deep breath in; he told them about his life with the Dursleys; how he was cooking as soon as he reached five, how he believed that his name was "boy" and was shocked to find out his real name when he was enrolled in school; in fact how for the first few weeks he wouldn't respond to Mr. Potter because he was used to being addressed as "boy". He told them about how when he was five Dudley broke his arm and Aunt Petunia scolded him for raising their expenses because of the visit to the doctor and thus to compensate for the loss and because he had been bad enough to make Dudley mad, she locked him in his cupboard for 3 days, with one meal a day and two bathroom breaks.

"She did WHAT?" Lily growled, "How dare she do that? How dare she treat a child like that? He broke his arm; he must be in so much pain. Instead of comforting him, how could she? I wish I was alive, I would have hexed her to the next century." His father made an angry noise in his throat, too worked up to say anything, his grandmother and Sirius looked almost alike with murderous glints in their grey eyes, while his grandfather like his father was too angry to make coherent sentences.

Harry smiled to himself; how long had he wished for someone to defend him. As a child he would continually pray for someone to come take him away from Aunt Petunia, for someone to come and stop Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Dudley from hurting him. From whatever Aunt Petunia said about his parents, and before knowing the truth, in his weak moments Harry wondered if his parents ever really loved him, for if they loved him why would they leave him. Harry grinned again; it was as if, the little boy inside him now knew that he was well loved and cared for.

"What are you smiling about?" His grandfather asked curiously.

Harry shook his head, "It's a little stupid really. When I saw all of you being so angry for me; I remembered how as a kid I used to go to church on Sundays and leave notes for Santa on Christmas to send back my parents or just about anyone who could stop the Dursleys from hurting me. Aunt Petunia always said that mom and dad died in a car crash. Dad was a good for nothing drunkard and it was a drunken driving case; well that made me wonder at times when I was really feeling low that maybe you and dad never loved me, mum. It's just that now when all of you are getting so angry for me, some part of me feels relieved, that my parents loved me enough."

"Oh Harry" Lily said extending her hand to Harry, Harry got up and placed his hand over his mother's hand on the portrait. "We love you so much Harry, not just James and I; but your grandparents, Sirius and Remus too. When you were little, Sirius would turn into Padfoot and sleep next to you so that you could hold on to him, he joked he was your Teddy bear, warding away all nightmares." Harry smiled at Sirius, who smiled back though his eyes looked strained.

"Yes, and Remus would have all serious conversations with you. Like one morning, Lily and I woke up to find Remus and you in the kitchen, where Remus was having this very serious discussion with you about his unhealthy obsession with chocolate and how only you could make him sacrifice his chocolate bar; while you sucked at it; without a care in the world." James laughed as Harry grinned.

"And do you remember his first Christmas? When Prongs turned into a stag and I dressed him in a cape and a crown and he entered the kitchen riding the stag like a prince?" Sirius laughed. His parents laughed as Harry grinned, even his grandparents looked amused.

Lily sighed, "Harry we really do love you-"

"I know mum; I have known this since the day I found out that you had a choice. You had a choice to step aside because he wanted to kill me and yet you begged him for mercy and died to save me. It is the fact that you chose to die for me, that gave the shield in my blood and dad tried to hold off Voldemort, knowing that he would die, but he still did go so that you and I have a chance to run away and Sirius ran off to the Ministry the moment he heard about me being there so that he could protect me. All of you loved me enough to die for me, even when I didn't want any of you to die; I have loved someone enough to want to die for them, I know how great that love is. You don't have to convince me for it. Please remember, this was before I found out that I was a wizard or how you died-"

"What do you mean by you didn't know you were a wizard?" his grandmother demanded, eyes flashing dangerously. She really struck as a formidable figure, standing tall, with those aristocratic features and anger in her eyes.

"It means that Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon believed that by punishing me severely for every bit of underage magic I exhibited and every mistake I made, they could make the magic disappear. So, I was punished without any explanation at times with weeks of being locked up in the cupboard or finishing all the chores like gardening, cooking, cleaning the house. Being beaten and bullied by Dudley on a regular basis and an occasional backhand from uncle Vernon. It was only when my Hogwarts letter arrived that they started treating me a little better, like giving me the spare bedroom, asking Dudley to back off."

Harry looked up when he heard a weird sound, all five of them were staring at him with horror, and the noise was coming from his mother who was fighting the urge to cry or snarl or do both; thus the noise was a mix between a snarl and a sob. All of them looked a little sickened. His grandmother sat down shakily on her chair as his grandfather put a hand on her shoulder; for the first time Harry appreciated the fact that he was head of the Auror department, the look on his face was deadly. His father was sitting on the chair with his hands over his face, his mother was perched on one arm of the chair, holding his father and looking thoroughly revolted, as Sirius sat on the other arm, one arm around his mother while gripping his father's shoulder with the other hand, he looked more like the Sirius that Harry had met in his third year.

"So, who wants to know about the time when I accidentally set a boa constrictor on Dudley?" Harry asked cheerfully. His mother looked amused, his dad, granddad and Sirius grinned and his grandmother shook her head, smiling slightly.

 **AN: Okay, I am trying to make some progress here, if you think the story is going too slow let me know. I as it plan to speed it up a little. On that note, watchout for my next Jily fic named "Love always, Lily". As always read and review please and Happy reading.**


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: Queen Rowling owns it all.**

 ** _A FEW WEEKS LATER_**

"Okay so here is the plan, I will bring Ginny here to meet you before taking her out for dinner. Yes mum, I will give her flowers and all that jazz; don't worry." Harry said rolling his eyes as Lily and Dora whose portrait with Remus had been recently fixed in the study beamed at him. Ginny would be leaving for Hogwarts in three days, as Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, with Hermione as the returning Eighth Year and Head Girl and Neville as the Head Boy. Ron and Hermione had returned two weeks after the Malfoy trial which took place on 4th August 1998. Lucius Malfoy was sentenced for life in Azkaban, while Narcissa Malfoy was sentenced for house arrest of three year, Draco was fined heavily for his role in the war but he was returning to Hogwarts that September.

Ron had decided to stay back and help George with the shop, Lee was happy to assist but Lee had his own Radio Station to handle. Harry was joining the Auror department, his training would commence in mid September, though he would take the NEWTS at the end of the year privately. At this very moment however, he was rocking a sleeping Teddy in his cradle, the cradle which originally belonged to Charlus and was passed down to Harry. The quilt covering Teddy was made by Lily; it was pale blue with a wolf, a dog, a stag and a rat on the four corners and a doe nuzzling her young one in the centre.

As his parents had informed him, they had sent the house elves to salvage any and everything from the cottage. It turned out that the cottage itself had faced no damage apart from the blasted nursery; but the elves had been able to salvage his soft toys, cradle, his mobile which again comprised a dog, a stag, a wolf, a rat and a doe.

"So when did Andy say she would return?" Sirius asked for the hundredth time.

"I don't know, but Narcissa won't be stupid enough to do something to her, especially when she knows that Andy would inform me before going to meet her." Harry replied patiently.

"I just don't understand why Narcissa wants to connect with her now? She shamelessly ignored Andy's existence for so many years, why can't she keep doing it?" Sirius muttered darkly.

"She might have changed Sirius, the two wars killed all of her family, Andromeda is the only living relative she has, maybe she realized how important family is." Lily reasoned.

"Or maybe she is trying to save the Malfoy name by snivelling into Andromeda's good books, which would ultimately lead to some association with Harry. I have known them all my life Lily. We were trained to always have an ulterior motive."

"That maybe so, but at least let them try. Andromeda believes that Narcissa is repentant, she said so herself after returning from that lunch a week ago." Harry reminded him.

"Yeah. Well I don't trust Narcissa Malfoy." Sirius declared and James nodded. Dorea shook her head and Charlus and Lily shrugged.

"Well, Sirius, I knew Narcissa as a child. She would always try to diffuse angry situations between Andromeda and Bellatrix, from what I remember, she cared about Andromeda deeply. Bellatrix though protective of Narcissa was at times way too cruel. Maybe she wants to be the same person again." Dorea said.

Sirius frowned at this but said nothing. Harry was still not used to the idea that his grandmother was a Black before her marriage with Charlus Potter. More shocked to find out that this marriage was an arranged marriage between the two families, even when the Blacks regarded Potters as odd and unconventional, no one could deny their political and social standing. He was the most amused by the fact that his Grandmother hated the idea of being married, because she wanted to pursue a career and that she really fell in love with his grandfather, when he supported her dream of being an Auror and enrolled her in the academy. It was quite an uproar in their times, the Blacks threatening to disown Dorea for such a digression, but once Charlus stood up for her and the Black family realized that her husband supported her dream, they calmed down. They however, broke all relations with her, when years later Charlus condemned Muggle baiting and murder in the name of pureblood supremacy and she stood by his side.

"Sirius, you need to-" Remus was cut off mid sentence, as the clock gonged loudly, declaring that it was 12:00 o'clock, Teddy woke up with a loud wail and a house elf appeared behind him with a loud crack, his mother gasped horrified. Harry turned slightly, but from the corner of his eye saw Grumpy barely supporting an unconscious Mrs. Weasley as Doc scooped up Teddy from his cradle to calm him down. Harry stood up alarmed. Grumpy had gone to the Weasley household to help Mrs. Weasley with his weekly chores, as it was difficult for her to maintain the household without some assistance.

"What happened? Grumpy where are Ginny and George? What happened to Mrs. Weasley?"

Grumpy whimpered before starting in a whisper, "Mister and Miss Weezly left for Diagon Alley, I was helping Mrs. Weezly when two of them came. I heard Mrs. Weezly scream, they were torturing her, when I defended her; they tortured me, so I held her and came home."

"Who came Grumpy? What did they look like?"

"I didn't see, Sir. They were wearing masks and they were asking for you."

Harry slumped back, there were a few renegade death eaters left, most were in Azkaban, but the few left outside were out for their blood, that's why they had put protective enchantments on all their homes, how could the death eaters break in? Harry got up and sent a Patronus to Ginny, Ron, Hermione, George, Luna, Neville, Percy, Bill, Mr. Weasley and Andromeda informing them about the attack at the Burrow, assuring them that Mrs. Weasley was fine with him at the Manor and enquiring about their whereabouts, asking them to come to the Manor as soon as possible.

Then Harry bent down to check on Mrs. Weasley, her pulse felt fine but she was unconscious and Grumpy was still shivering violently. "Doc, please go fetch some calming draught for Grumpy and Mrs. Weasley." His grandmother said to Doc.

Doc placed Teddy back in the cradle and apparated away to come back moments later with two vials of calming draught. He gave some to Grumpy who calmed down immediately, though he still looked teary eyed. Harry enervated Mrs. Weasley who started shivering instantly and gave her the draught. Doc went back to caring for Teddy as Harry steadied Mrs. Weasley. Once she had calmed down enough to take in her surroundings, Mrs. Weasley jumped slightly before pulling Harry in a hug.

"Oh Harry, they came looking for you. I don't know how they got past the enchantments, before I could draw my wand; they had used the Cruciatus on me. Bless your elf, he saved both of us."

Before Harry could respond, several patronuses soared in through the window. Neville was at 'Longbottom Heights' with his grandmother and Hannah, he asked Harry to not worry about them as the property was heavily secured. George was with Ron, Ginny and Luna at the shop. Ron, Ginny and Luna were flooing in immediately and George would follow suit after packing the products away. Hermione was with her parents in muggle London, but she said she would be apparating outside the Potter Manor. Bill and Fleur were at work, the Goblins had been unrelenting and they would be able to come after work. Mr. Weasley and Percy were at the ministry and had already heard of the attack, Kingsley had given them the day off and they would be flooing in as soon as they could find a substitute. Andromeda was at Malfoy Manor and was safe at the moment, she would however be returning soon.

Harry turned to see the other house elves standing in line, alert and ready for action. "I need one of you to go the visitor's room and bring everyone who arrives through floo to the study." Doc nodded and disappeared with a crack.

"I need one of you to open the gates of the Potter Manor and lead the three people who appear there in. "

"You don't need to send a house elf to do that Harry. As soon as Hermione arrives at the gates, the painting above the mantelpiece would inform you of her presence. All you have to say is 'enter' and the gates would open to let her in." Charlus informed Harry. Harry nodded.

"I need one of you to go to the Tonks Residence. You will find an elderly house elf called Kreacher there; tell him Harry has asked him to accompany you to the Potter Manor. Be careful, he is old and very sick; he can't apparate on his own so you will have to bring him here with you."

"I will go Master Harry; I will take care of Kreacher." Sneezy said before disappearing with a loud crack.

"Grumpy, go sleep and rest for the entire day, you have been through enough." Grumpy smiled at him gratefully before disappearing with a loud crack.

"Dopey, Bashful make lunch for our guests, and bring some tea in for Mrs. Weasley as well as Grumpy" Dorea Potter said jumping in the role of Lady Potter "Sleepy and Happy please prepare the rooms in the family wing for our guests." Harry knelt beside Mrs. Weasley, who managed to smile faintly at him before slumping back in her chair. The buzzing sound made Harry look up, the painting above the mantelpiece changed to show a girl with brown bushy hair. "Enter" Harry called before turning to see Happy.

"The rooms are prepared, Sir." Sleepy informed him. Harry nodded and thanked him before the elf left to help out in the kitchen. Harry had taken a short tour once, he hadn't entered any rooms but he knew the general layout of the Manor. Putting Mrs. Weasley in enchanted sleep and conjuring a stretcher for her; Harry picked Teddy up before lifting Mrs. Weasley out of the study and walked to the end of the corridor, following the set of stairs that led up. On reaching the second floor landing which opened into a hall decorated with cups and orders of Merlin. The hall opened into two corridors L-shaped corridors with six rooms each on both sides of the hall, with rooms lining one wall of the open corridor with wide open arches giving a view of the grounds and the lake below.

Harry turned towards the left corridor which was nearer and opened the first door. A large, dark cherry wood four poster bed was placed in the centre of the room, facing the fire place on the wall opposite to it. The room was large with pale green walls and carpet; a desk was placed along the wall to the right of the bed, next to a large window opening to the forests beyond. The wall along the fireplace opened into a large closet with a large wooden wardrobe covering the right wall, while a floor length mirror and shelves lined with perfumes, colognes and ornaments covered half of the left wall; the rest of which was covered by a large vanity mirror, an attached shelf and a vanity chair. Beyond which stood the door to the bathroom. A large door, opposite to the entrance of the room, opened into a balcony, with a view of the forest. A sofa set seating five with two soft stools and a small centre table, all made of dark cherry wood, placed on the left side of the bed was white with pale green cushions, a similar theme was followed for the bed sheets. A bonsai tree stood in the centre of the marble mantelpiece.

Harry tucked Mrs. Weasley in her bed, before returning to the study to find Ron, Hermione, George, Ginny, and Luna waiting for him outside the study with Doc. Harry thanked Doc, and assured everyone that Mrs. Weasley was fine and was sleeping in a room upstairs. He requested them to sit with him in the study for a while, giving Mrs. Weasley time to recuperate. Ginny whimpered, Ron and George squared their jaws, eyes full of worry.

"Alright, you guys can go up and see her. Don't wake her up though; they used the Cruciatus curse on her." Ginny choked, as Ron and George glared furiously. All of them knew what the Cruciatus curse did to a person emotionally and physically. "Just go to the end of the corridor and follow the stairs up, take a left when you reach the hall. The first door is her room. I have put her to sleep. She will wake up in about an hour for some lunch. If you need anything, just give me or one of the house elves a call." They nodded before walking away briskly. Harry sighed, turning to look at Luna and Hermione who had hung back to give the Weasleys a moment with their mother. Harry smiled at them politely as he opened the door of the study and ushered them in.

"Mrs. Weasley is alright. She is sleeping; she will be fine in a while." He assured the portraits, "Now for introductions. Sirius, Remus, Dora, Mum, Dad, Grandma and Granddad, meet Hermione Granger, my sister in all but blood." Harry said smiling at Hermione affectionately. "Hello" Hermione said blushing slightly. Luna looked on dreamily, smiling to herself. "And this" Harry said, pulling Luna to him and ruffling her hair affectionately "Is Luna Lovegood." Luna smiled serenely at everyone. They sat in the study chatting with everyone when Dopey announced lunch as well as assure Harry that Kreacher was down in the elf quarters and was being taken care of.

Harry, Hermione and Luna met George, Ron, Ginny, Mr. Weasley and Percy who had arrived and visited Mrs. Weasley straight off, in the dining room for lunch. Conversation was fluid as everyone relaxed now that Mrs. Weasley would make full recovery. Though the Burrow was secure Harry had insisted that everyone stay back for the night. With nothing more to do everyone decided on exploring the Manor.

 **AN: I am trying really hard to speed things up. A couple of more chapters would go this slow probably and then it would speed up and end. While you are at it, check out my new Remus- Dora fic, which is a sequel of the ones we love but can be read independently too. You know what to do guys, Read and Review. Happy Reading.**


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Queen Rowling for the win!**

 **Also, this is a description of the Potter Manor, this is how I imagine the Potter Manor would be like. If you want to know the decor of all the rooms at the Manor, put that in the review. I will put in some details in the next AN. Also, do review and let me know how you find Potter Manor. Is there anything I could add or remove or edit. Happy reading.**

One wall of the dining room was made of large sliding glass doors, which opened into a long open corridor with high arches. Giving a view of a large garden with a fountain in the centre, this long corridor connected the ballroom with the garden as well as the dining room which had a table long enough to seat fifty people with ease.

Leading them back through the dining room door to the large corridor, with three staircases, Harry informed them, that the other two staircases opened into two different wings of the Manor with a structure similar to the one they had emerged from, but they had more rooms. Harry led them back to the first floor landing; through the stairs they had emerged from, showing them the study where everyone stopped to have a little chat with the occupant portraits. The wood panelled library had a wooden spiral staircase in the centre leading to rows of books on the upper floor; the room was full of comfortable chairs and couches, with a fireplace on the far wall and a view of the lake from another side. Hermione and Percy almost gave up the tour to check out the library; the others however, dragged them out.

The music room was high ceilinged with a wall made of full length glass windows, giving a view of the stone pier below. It was a large airy room, white themed with a grand piano of dark cherry wood in the centre; the other instruments were placed all over the room. The game room had a billiards table, a grand chess set, which was smaller than McGonagall's chess set that she had provided as a hurdle, but large enough. Other games were lined along the shelves in neat stacks.

The rest of the rooms in the family wing were similar to that of Mrs. Weasley's but the twelve rooms on the second floor had different colour themes, the wood work, like the rest of the house was dark cherry wood. The third floor, landing opened into an open, L shaped corridor on the left with four rooms, while the right comprised of a double door, leading to the master bedroom.

The double doors opened into a sitting room with Bay window seats on both ends, to give a view of the lake and the grounds below on the left side and a view of the forest on the right. The room was themed light grey and gold, off white cotton curtains covered the windows and white walls. Dark Grey full length curtains, divided the huge sitting room from the bed chamber. A king sized four poster bed sat in the middle of the room, with light grey silk covers, white and grey sheets and golden cushions; facing a fireplace with an intricately designed mantelpiece. On the left of the mantelpiece were double doors opening to a large balcony full of potted plants, and a gazebo in the centre with a wooden tea table seating four and a beautiful view of the garden and lake below. The right side of the mantelpiece opened into a small hall with two doors. The door on the right opened into a nursery, with a beautiful dark cherry wood crib and a crystal mobile with a stag, a doe, a dog, a wolf and a rat glinted merrily under the window. The nursery was equipped with everything one would need for a baby. The door on the left opened to a huge closet; the closet design was similar to that of all the other rooms, the difference being that it was bigger. The bathroom was huge, with a pool in the centre, with a shower and toilet on the side with gold fixings.

Leading them back down, to the kitchen, Harry led them to the back door of the kitchen which opened to a small covered path leading to three directions. The one to the left opened had a large door which opened led into a long open corridor connecting the visitor's room and the drawing with the back, the path to the right ended in spiral steps leading to the clock and astronomy towers. The path in the centre was lined by white cherry blossoms ending at the junction of three stone paths. The path straight ahead, led to a stone pier opening into the lake, the sides of which were lined by white and pink rose bushes, ending at raised platforms on the side where two stone dragons stood sentinel. Stone steps, led down from the side of the dragons to the bow shaped lake. The stone path to the right of the cherry blossom trees led to a huge garden, covering the side of the property back to front, with a large marble fountain in the centre. The path to the left led to a small two storied broom shed, which housed all the brooms ever made in history, including Harry's Firebolt and the shelves were lined with all sorts of broom servicing kits and Quidditch supplies including the balls. Further down the path opened to a Quidditch pitch, as big as the one at Hogwarts.

By the time everyone made it back to the kitchen it was tea time. Andromeda walked in beaming, she had checked on Mrs. Weasley who was sleeping peacefully and Narcissa had invited her to come home with Teddy the next day so that Draco could meet him before leaving for Hogwarts. As everyone sat down to have tea at the kitchen table big enough to seat twelve people, Kingsley came calling in. Informing them that Crabbe Sr. and Goyle Sr. had attacked the Burrow. They had seen one of the Weasleys walk out of the protective enchantments and ascertained the location of the Burrow. The attack was against Harry, as both blame Harry for the fate of their sons.

Kingsley stayed for dinner where they were joined by Bill and Fleur; after dinner, checking on Mrs. Weasley and thanking Harry for letting them stay, the couple flooed to Shell cottage. Luna insisted on going back home and Kingsley offered to drop her home before he went back himself apparently he missed being a free agent something his security detail had successfully prevented so far. The rest of the Weasleys and Hermione moved to the different rooms on the second floor, while Andromeda took the master bedroom on the third floor and Harry after much persuasion from his father took James' room on the third floor.

James' room was large, almost half a corridor big, it had blue green walls. It was pretty much like all the other rooms, only bigger and the wall above the marble mantelpiece was artfully decorated with black and white pictures of James. Two pictures were framed and decorated on the mantelpiece. One picture was of the Marauders, probably on the day they graduated. The second picture was of his father, with another boy who resembled his father a lot but Harry had never seen or heard of him.

Harry walked to his father's desk, to see it littered with his books and scraps of parchments. Harry opened a drawer to find several letters stuffed in the drawer. Harry picked one and sank in the armchair next to the table.

 _JAMIE!_

 _I am not sorry for starting the letter without a 'Hello'. Honestly, it's boring and Potters are anything but boring. Anyway, I am writing today to tell you that she said YES! After years of oscillating between our friendship and the love I have for her, I ask her out and she agreed to going out on a date with me. Sadly, I can't take her anywhere away from the island like you Hogwarts brats; but Circe's island is beautiful and I have a special spot I would take her to for our date._

 _On that note, how is Evans? Is she still hexing you for existing? Don't worry Jamie. I don't think she hates you. She just doesn't know you. Hell! If I tell one of Circe's chicks about you, she would want to date you without seeing you. Well, she could assume that you look as good as I do, sadly, she would be disappointed. Face it; I am the better looking Potter. Hah! I win this one; I can't wait to see what hex you send me through your next letter._

 _Well apart from that life at Circe's has become mundane, yes you go to class, you do your homework, you pull pranks; you play Quidditch but what more? The things they are teaching us no; is all about ancient Greeks and their magic. Well let me be honest, they were fascinating agreed, they had extreme power, so much so that the muggles believe that Zeus was a Greek God instead of a very powerful Wizard. Well, he was fascinating, all of them were, but Zeus was shady. I promise you he was shady. I still plan on going for that world tour once I finish school but I would stay in Greece for the summer. Dad tells me that the war is worsening in England and knowing you, I know Frank, Sirius and you would want to fight. If things get real bad, I will join you. Dad is already planning on moving to England once I finish my education here. This summer would probably be our last summer in Greece then, unless we continue the tradition and keep coming back._

 _Well I should get going, I have work to do. Can't wait to see you for Christmas; say Hi to Uncle Charlus and Aunt Dorea. Hi five Sirius, Remus, Peter and Frank for me._

 _Bye little cousin_

 _Percy_

 _P.S. - I wrote to Frank; looks like he is very serious about Alice Prewett, he is living under the delusion that Aunt Augusta would let him marry as soon as she graduates school and he graduates Auror academy. I have asked him to wait till Christmas to make the announcement; I don't want to miss the fun!_

Percy? Harry didn't know any Percy? His father had a cousin living in Greece, then why hadn't this cousin ever made any attempt to contact Harry? And who was Aunt Augusta? Were they talking about Augusta Lonbottom, did that mean that Neville was related to him? His head reeled. He picked up another letter.

 _Hello little cousin,_

 _How is the littlest Potter doing? I think I love Alexandra. I haven't told her that yet, it's a secret. We have been going out steadily since the last letter I sent you; she even agreed to accompany me to travel the world. I am sorry Jamie, this would be a short letter, but my schedule is jam packed._

 _Now, let's move to the issue, Evans. You say you have been writing to her as Prongs and she is replying. And now you are more in love with her because she much more beautiful on the inside. Well, good for you but when do you plan to her that you are Prongs? Don't look at me (the letter) with those eyes, it's not my idea. Well, you know how clueless I could be in these situations so I asked Alexandra, who after 'awwing' for a ridiculously long time told me that you should come clean to Evans, probably with a romantic date setting. Wait here, Alexandra would is here and she wants to give you the instructions._

 ** _Hey James,_**

 ** _Sorry for barging in a private conversation but I have known you ever since you were a baby, you are like a baby brother to me and I can't let my baby brother do anything stupid._**

 ** _So, here is the idea, invite her on a date with Prongs, well take her to the place she loves, decorate it with fairy lights and flowers and get a meal for the two of them. Her favourite things, it would show that you pay attention to her. Don't come out immediately; let her take in the scene before you jump her. Also, DO NOT do this right now, warn her in the letter that Prongs might not be someone she likes. And as James Potter leave her alone, don't ask her out, let her see the not so moronic side of you. Let her warm up to you as James before you let her know that you are Prongs. If you tell her now, you would only confuse and possibly hurt her. Let's not damage her to the extent that she stops trusting people. And if she still rejects you, well we are all there for you. Respect her decision, because you did everything you could to show her you love her and would be anything for her, but if she says no, respect that and move on._**

 ** _Well, I hope you listen to me._**

 ** _All the best._**

 ** _Love_**

 ** _Alex_**

 _Well, Jamie, that's what the lady says, if you ask me sounds damn manipulative and exhausting. If she loves Prongs, she loves you and she shouldn't change her mind as soon as you reveal yourself. But the choice lies with you._

 _All best little cousin._

 _Perce._

 _P.S. – I can't believe aunt Augusta didn't blast Frank or Alice off; she is losing her scary witch touch._

The letter confused Harry even more. Who were these people? Writing to his dad, so intimately; he jumped to his feet, deciding he needed to ask his parents about this mysterious Percy person. He rushed down the stairs to the study.

 **AN: So, well yeah. Read and review. Happy reading. Also, I made some calculation error with Teddy's age. He is three months old but is developing faster because of his metamorphmagus gene. Magical children develop slightly faster than muggle children because of their magic, but Teddy like Tonks is developing faster than magical children because of his metamorphmagus abilities.**


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: Queen Rowling**

"Dad?" Harry called as he peered through the door of his study.

"Harry?" James replied, "Come on in. What are you doing up so late?"

As Harry looked around at the portraits, he realized that all of them were looking at him quizzically.

"Err… Sorry to disturb you. I was exploring Dad's room and- Dad look I am sorry, I shouldn't have read your letters, but the drawer was full of them and then I got curious- did you have a cousin named Percy? Where is he now? And am I related to Neville Longbottom? By Aunt Augusta did you mean Augusta Longbottom-"

"Harry! Slow down. I am not offended that you checked through my room, I would have done the same. It's okay." His father said "Regarding your questions. Do you mind if I explain a bit of the family tree to you?"

Harry shook his head. "Well fine. So **Artemis Potter was married to Cassiopeia Malfoy** -"

"What?" Harry exclaimed loudly, "You mean to tell me that one of my ancestors was a Malfoy? I am related to the Malfoys?"

"Harry, all the purebloods are related to each other. It's a fact of life. Accept it." His grandmother chastised him.

"Moving on" his father continued " **Artemis and Cassiopeia had two children Aristide and Antoinette. Antoinette was married to Gerhardt Rosewood-** the Rosewoods were an old pureblood line, which died out when Antoinette and Gerhardt's twin daughters married into the Rosier and Lestrange families. **Aristide Potter married Gerhardt's younger sister Lilith Rosewood."**

" **Aristide and Lilith had three children- Charlus, Anthony and Augusta**. My uncle Toni travelled the world after finishing Hogwarts as a magical historian. He was in Greece studying ancient Greek Witches and Wizards when he met **aunt Althea**. She belonged to one of the few ancient pureblood families in Greece and studied magic at **Circe's island**. She was on his team and they fell in love, got married and chose to settle down in Greece because of the country's rich and fascinating history. They had a son called Perseus he was born three years before I was born."

" **Aunt Augusta married Graham Longbottom, it was an arranged marriage and gave birth to Frankie** , two years before I was born. As you know Charlus Potter's wedding was arranged with Dorea Black and they had me, the youngest Potter."

"So, what happened to your uncle Anthony and his family?"

"It had become a Potter and Longbottom family tradition which really comprised of Uncle Graham, Aunty Augusta and Frankie to spend summers in Greece and Christmas in England. Well it was the summer between my fifth and sixth year, this was in many ways one of our last vacations in Greece as both Frank and Percy had graduated from school that year. Frank was joining the Auror academy almost immediately. Percy planned to travel the world. Uncle Graham, Aunt Althea and mom had contracted dragon pox by the end of that summer. The healers did everything they could, but all of it failed. **Aunt Althea died within a week of being diagnosed with Dragon pox, Uncle Graham died in September, 1976 and mum died on 18th January 1977.** "

" **Dad, Uncle Anthony, Percy and Alexandra; Percy's fiancé were murdered a year later on 4th January 1978.** I had just returned to school from the Christmas break, Uncle Anthony had moved back to live at the Manor a few months ago and Percy and Alex had just returned from their trip. They had sent in their applications to the Auror academy. The four of them were having lunch at a café in Diagon Alley when Death Eaters attacked- Voldemort attacked himself. From what I know all of them fought really hard but were overwhelmed by sheer numbers. I saved as many letters as I could find, some written by mom and dad, some by Uncle Toni and Aunt Thea, some by Percy, Xandra, and Frank, as a reminder of what Voldemort took from me. That is why I never formally accepted the title of Lord Potter. Percy and I were supposed to share that title, that is why I never returned to the Manor or fled to Greece or any other Potter family property, everything had painful memories. I wouldn't have been able to hide in places where their memories would have haunted me. I would have done something stupid."

"How come I haven't seen their portraits here?"

"Percy never became Lord Potter either formally or by default so his portrait was never put up on the walls of the Potter family's meeting room at Gringotts. His only portrait is here at the Manor, he is in the library. He loved mythologies, spent most of his time there, so his portrait was put there. Uncle Toni was younger than dad, so he never became Lord Potter; his portrait is in the ballroom. Aunt Althea loved dancing and absolutely adored the annual Yuletide Ball we hosted every year. So they were placed in the ballroom. You can go meet them in the morning, they had been eager to meet you, especially Percy. But we had asked them to wait till we explained the family tree to you. We didn't want to overwhelm you with too much information." Harry nodded pursing his lips.

"Why does it say in the letters that you were talking to mum as Prongs but she didn't know who Prongs was?"

Remus and Sirius started laughing, as James grinned and Lily smirked. "Ugh yeah! Look I am not too proud of myself as a teenager. You see, I started asking your mom out in the fourth year just to annoy her. We were experimenting with being Animagi, we knew our animal forms but we were having trouble turning into them. It was getting frustrating and I don't know how or why, I started writing letters to your mom. Telling her about my fears and worries and frustrations, it started out as a joke because a fourteen year old James would never talk to his enemy about his problems. But then, I don't know how or when, I started imagining how your mom would respond, I started paying attention to her behaviour and I realized she was an amazing person. By then asking her out was more of a habit. And in fifth year when we became Animagi-"

"We introduced ourselves as the Marauders. A name we had been using amongst us, since fourth year, when we had finally finished the map and signed it according to the identities of our animal forms. We had discovered them that year and we were thrilled." Sirius added smiling.

"Yup! The Marauders were like the coolest troublemakers in school and no one knew their identity, we kept it a secret." Lupin added smiling happily "Pads and I noticed that James had taken to writing letters in his free time. We knew he wasn't writing home or to Percy or to his other family members. So, one day we-"he paused mirroring Sirius' expression of deep disgust, "Anyway, we asked the _rat_ to lure James to the kitchen and we raided his trunk.-"

"Hidden beneath Prongsie's dirty magazines" Sirius cut in, grinning deviously and wagging his eyebrows suggestively, as Lily smacked James' arm and Dorea smacked him upside on the head, "Hey!" his dad said in protest. Tonks was sporting Sirius' evil expression and Charlus left muttering he was too old and dead to care, Sirius continued, "We found a stack of letters written to Lily. We decided we would drop one off to Lily in secret. But then I went and blabbed to Snape and all of us got in a fight that lasted for two weeks. We finally made up the night before we were leaving for our Christmas break."

"Late that night, Sirius woke me up and suggested, we nick a letter in the morning, after James leaves for breakfast and drop it off to Lily. So, we nicked the letter, checked the map for Lily and dropped it off to her." Remus said smiling angelically.

"Well, after what these two idiots did. Lily talked about the letter with Alice and Frankie. Frankie figured out who the Marauders were but promised to say nothing, however, he did ask me to keep a close watch on the letters. As soon as he left, Sirius asked me to actually write to Lily and I almost took his advice. I wrote her a final letter telling her, the first letter was a mistake and she should forget about it. She replied."

"And he went crazy! Woke me up at dawn to show me the bleeding letter-"

"Anyway, your mom found out in our sixth year, it took her some time to really accept it, but she asked me out in the middle of our final year. After she realized that I genuinely liked her." His father finished the story, grinning like crazy as his mother rolled her eyes before smiling at him affectionately.

Harry let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Ever since he had found out about Snape and Lily's friendship, he often wondered how different things might have been had he not called her that word. Now, looking at his parents, he knew they were meant to be. They would have found a way back to each other the way Ginny found a way back to him.

There was a soft knock on the study's door, "Harry?" Ginny called softly. Harry crossed the room to open the door for her, "Ginny? What's up? What are you doing out here so late?" He asked pulling Ginny in his arms and pecking her forehead. Before Ginny could reply, he took her hand and pulled her further in the room.

"I can't sleep." She said walking to the desk with him and sitting on a chair, covering her eyes tiredly, "I want to. But I can't. Every time I close my eyes, I see Fred. Had your elf not been there, I don't even want to think what would have happened to mum and none of us would have known for hours." She took a shuddering breath to calm herself, "Harry, I left her alone at home to go hang out with Ron, George and Luna at the shop. Oh my God! It's my fault. I wasn't even there to-"

The rest of Ginny's speech was muffled as he hugged her. "Ginny, listen here love. It wasn't your fault. We are trying to build our lives, go back to living like normal people do. Who would have expected Crabbe and Goyle to turn up?"

"But-"

"But what? Haven't you been telling me that none of the deaths were my fault? Ginny, if you look at it closely, all of us left home eagerly today because we had something to look forward to. Listen to me Ginny" he said, tucking a strand of her red hair behind her ear, "it wasn't your fault. Do you hear me? None of it was. Let's just be happy that she is fine, okay?" Harry looked at Ginny and held her gaze till she nodded reluctantly. He smiled at her before kissing her forehead softly, "Hey Gin." He murmured in her hair.

"Hmm"

"I haven't really introduced you to my family, and seeing that they are watching us right now. I think you should meet them."

Ginny looked up apprehensively as he smiled. "Mum, Dad, Grandma. Oh! You came back! Okay good, well then Grandpa too. This is Ginevra Weasley, the love of my life." He said as he winked at Ginny who smiled shyly at the portraits. "And Ginny, you know Sirius, Remus and Tonks. Well, that's my parents Lily and James Potter and my grandparents, Dorea and Charlus Potter." He added, as the said couples smiled warmly at Ginny.

Lily stretched her hand forward, palm facing her; Ginny looked uncertainly at Harry who smiled at her encouragingly. Ginny placed her palm on the portrait over Lily's palm. Lily smiled radiantly, "Its lovely to finally add a face to the name. We have heard so much about you. Although, I am really sorry for the way my son has treated you." Lily said "He gets that from his father." She added with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Hey!" James protested, "I treat you fairly well. He gets that from you" He added, pulling a strand of Lily's hair. Lily gave him a look as she swatted his hand away. James stuck his tongue out at Lily, before Lily could respond; Dorea Potter cleared her throat loudly. James and Lily looked at Ginny abashedly, as she grinned at them and Harry smiled barely able to hide his amusement.

Ginny looked at Dorea who stood tall and graceful in her portrait, "It's lovely to meet you dear. Harry speaks very highly of you." She smiled at Ginny who was struck dumb by the elder woman's beauty and grace.

"It is lovely to meet all of you too. Sirius, Tonks, Professor Lupin. It's lovely to see you again. Harry hasn't stopped talking about all of you since his first day here. I am glad he has all of you now." Ginny said smiling at all of them.

Sirius grinned at Ginny, "I can't believe you settled for that wanker."

"Don't listen to him Ginny, he said the same to me when I got here." Tonks said rolling her eyes at Sirius. Ginny grinned at Tonks before sticking her tongue out at Sirius making James and Remus roar with laughter.

Harry leant against the desk; arms folded across his chest, looking at the scene unfold. Somewhere in the back of his mind he saw a future with Ginny. To him it looked like Ginny belonged to this room, Ginny belonged with his family; she even belonged to the Manor. An image cropped up unbidden in his mind; Ginny holding a baby- _his_ baby and talking to the rest of them. He shook his head, trying to get the image out. He knew he was thinking way ahead of him. Ginny and Harry were still working on their relationship. Yes, they were together but the past year was like a looming shadow in their relationship. Ginny hid it well, but she worried that Harry would leave her again. The days following the Battle of Hogwarts had been rough for all of them. They had just started working on their relationship. He didn't want to burden Ginny. Shaking his head, Harry cleared his throat to break the amiable chatter between his family and Ginny.

"Err… It is getting late. Maybe we should get to bed and let you sleep too." Harry said uncertainly.

Sirius laughed as the others grinned. "We don't really sleep or get tired Harry." Dorea said "We are just echoes of who we were. We feel emotions but not physical changes as such. But by all means, it is getting late. You should get to bed." Sirius, Dora and his father had stuffed their fists in their mouths to stem their guffaws, Remus and his mother were shaking their heads but were grinning wildly, and even his grandparents' eyes betrayed a mischievous glint as Dorea asked them to get to bed. Harry ducked his head blushing deeply and noticed Ginny do the same. Catching her eye he grinned shyly before motioning towards the door. "Goodnight. I will see you guys tomorrow." Harry said before turning to leave the room. "You better sleep in your assigned rooms, young man!" Sirius called as Harry got out the door, Harry shut the door to their loud guffaws.

"Are you sleepy?" Harry asked Ginny shyly, nudging her foot his foot.

"Not really." She said before blushing deeply and biting her lip.

Harry stared at the beauty before him; all he wanted to do was relieve Ginny from biting her lip and do her the service himself. Shaking his head, he cleared his throat again. "So, umm… Do you want to- umm… do you want me to stay with you tonight?"

She nodded blushing slightly. Harry followed to the end of the L-shaped corridor, housing the Weasley family and Hermione. The room was similar to all other rooms, but the colour of the walls and subsequently the theme of the entire room was peach. Harry lay down on the bed as Ginny snuggled next to him, resting her head on his chest.

 **AN: Circe's island is a part of Greek Mythology. What I have done here is convert it into a school of magic it is much older than Hogwarts and has an eight year long course. The children at Circe's live in an island, the entrance is guarded by a statue of Circe the original resident of the Island and the first headmistress who was an expert at potions and transfiguration. She broke tradition and opened a school for witches in a time when witches were not allowed to learn complex magic or were only allowed to study divination. Later on the school was opened for young wizards too. The final year at Circe's is dedicated to learning the secrets of ancient forgotten magic. But the students are forbidden to talk about their knowledge with outsiders.**

 **Please do read and review. I really need to know how you find the fic. Happy reading.**


	19. Chapter 19

"Hey Gin?"

"Hmmm"

"Remember Fred's funeral? You said you started doubting if I had ever loved you. What would make you think like that? I told why we needed to break up."

Ginny sighed but she didn't answer immediately. She continued tracing patterns on Harry's chest. "It was Blaise" She said slowly.

"Zabini?"

"Yeah. He-"

"Since when have you been on first names basis with Zabini?"

Ginny sighed, "There is so much you don't know Harry. You know Nott and Zabini, were never tried by the Wizengamot, despite Nott's father being a death eater."

Harry nodded "That's because more than half of the DA stood up for them. Astoria Greengrass, she is a Ravenclaw, a year behind me. Well, she wasn't part of the first DA but then last year she got hold of Michael and joined us. Daphne Greengrass, her elder sister joined to protect Astoria. Nott and Zabini joined with Daphne. But the three Slytherins did not want people to know about their alignment, they were all purebloods and it would have been worse for them. So, while they did not actively fight, they would not torture us, they would actually use some other curse like the freezing charm instead of the Cruciatus curse, all we had to do was pretend to scream. Nott and Zabini are excellent at potions; they would make curative potions for us. They joined the fight from our side in the end."

Harry exhaled. Who would have thought that! "So, what did Zabini say that made you doubt my love for you?"

Ginny's fingers twitched. She inhaled to stabilize herself. "I had been tortured for the first time that night. As I was almost crawling back to the tower, Crabbe grabbed me and tried to force himself on me." Harry's fingers tightened around Ginny's waist as he inhaled sharply. "Blaise helped me out. He stunned Crabbe and then carried me to the tower. Well we got in an argument and he sort of implied that you left me at the mercy of wolves without even trusting me enough to let me know the reason of your departure." Harry made a noise in the back of his throat.

"I know, I know" Ginny said soothingly, "I know" She said forcefully, her face now hovering inches from his face. She traced his cheek bones with her thumb as she cupped the back of his neck. "Trust me Harry, I knew back then too. A part of me always knew that you loved me. But when you were being chained or tortured for 4 out of 7 days in a week, your resolve and beliefs start wavering." She leaned her forehead against Harry's.

"Crabbe would try to force himself on me when I would be too broken and exhausted to react fast enough. On some evenings, I would hex the gormless idiot for touching me, on other evenings Nott or Blaise would help me out. Well, Blaise more than Nott. He hates people like Crabbe; people who think that forcing themselves on others is their birthright because of their position of power. We were never great friends but I trusted him. And each time, he would leave me at the Tower; he would question your absence and your love for me. It started creating doubts in my mind."

Harry stroked Ginny's head. "It's not that I don't appreciate what he did for you. But why would he question my love for you?"

Ginny smiled, "Because his understanding of love is different. For all his life, Blaise and his mum have been a team against the world. She has always been there to protect him and comfort him, even take his punishments on herself. He does the same for her. He believes that when you love someone, you have to be there for them, you have to protect them from everything. He didn't understand your decision to end things with me to protect me. Had it been him, he would have left the country with me. But that's who he is."

"I never thought Nott or Zabini had it in them to respect others." Harry mused as Ginny laughed.

"Nott is different." She told him "He hardly ever talked. And he would only talk to Blaise, Daphne and Astoria. Blaise could be talkative but only with people he is comfortable with; otherwise he could be as stuck up as Nott. Astoria told me that Blaise and Nott have never been around many people, they are not as comfortable talking to others. They just hide their nervousness behind those haughty masks."

Harry nodded as he absently tucked a strand of hair behind Ginny's ear. "I am sorry." He said softly

"For what?"

"Zabini was right in a way. Crabbe only tried to grab you when you were vulnerable. I don't even want to think what he would have done-" Harry closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, his grip tightening on Ginny's waist "It's good for him that he is dead. Had he been alive, I would have skinned him alive." He growled his eyes burning with anger.

"You wouldn't have to. What do you think was I doing to receive so many detentions? Apart from rebelling that is. As soon as I had my energy back, I would hex him so bad that he would end up in hospital wing for a week." Ginny looked at him with a hint of pride in her eyes.

He rolled over, pinning Ginny beneath him, "Has anyone ever told you that you are an idiot? Did you have to hex him so much? You were only inviting more trouble for yourself. Imagine what they would have done had Zabini or Nott not been there."

"They wouldn't have broken us, that's for sure. Crabbe was not just trying to assault me. He tried this with every one of us, even little first years." Harry grimaced, what kind of a sick bastard was Crabbe. "It's a good thing that he was thick enough to not notice us. We shadowed him, stunning him before he did something to the others. It was Blaise's idea. Apparently, Crabbe proclaimed in their dorm, that torturing someone turned him on immensely and he wanted to shag his victims senseless afterwards. This according to him was the proper way of teaching someone their place in the social order." Harry felt sick to the core. How could someone be this twisted? He silently thanked the universe for ending the life of Vincent Crabbe. What disturbed him more was the matter of fact tone that Ginny had adopted.

"Ginny?" Harry said, softly, brushing her hair from her face. "Are you sure you want to go back?"

Ginny looked at him her eyes guarded "Yes."

"You don't have to be brave about this. Are you sure?"

"You know, in my second year, I wouldn't cross _that_ corridor. I felt so violated and guilty for letting Tom use me, that I withdrew from everyone. Professor Lupin noticed it. Maybe he saw himself in me. He called me to his office once and we talked. He understood; he understood the way I blamed myself for being so stupid. He told me this story about a little boy who was a werewolf and his three friends. He asked me to cross that corridor once. With someone for support and then try and cross it every day, till the fear of the corridor leaves me. Fred walked with me the first time, wrapping his arms around my shoulder protectively, he encouraged me to walk. I cried later, in Lupin's office. Fred hated it, he told Lupin that I won't be doing it again, but I did it again. With Fred for support and I kept going back, till it became a corridor. I need to go back, if I don't confront it now, I will never be able to live peacefully."

Harry nodded once before pressing their foreheads together. "I love you" he whispered.

Ginny smiled, "I love you too."

 **AN: Next up a leap! From now on there would be leaps and the story would move much faster. I would add background stories as separate fics. I am working on Ginny's sixth year at Hogwarts and her relationship with Blaise Zabini. I am also working on adding more background information on the Potter family tree. Hope you like those too. Please check out my other fics, as all of them are related and are basically bits and pieces of the whole.**

 **Hope you like it. Please do read and review. Happy reading! :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: The Potter universe belongs to J.K. Rowling**

 **** ** _22_** ** _nd_** ** _December 1999_**

Harry stretched as he trudged down to the study from the master bedroom of the Manor. It had been more than a year since he had lived here. This Manor was home now. His life moved with a certain rhythm. He was an Auror now, having finished his training in September. Ginny was playing for the Holyhead Harpies, and was thrilled to discover that the Manor was nearer to Holyhead. She had moved in with Harry. Molly had protested, loudly, but Ginny had told her in clear terms that as an adult she had the right to choose for herself. Harry had later assured Molly that his intentions were honourable and true to his word, he had not had sex with Ginny yet, he didn't want to break Molly's trust in him. Weekends were now divided between the Burrow and the Manor, while everyone assembled at the Burrow for a Sunday lunch, thrice a month, the fourth Sunday would be spent at the Manor. Hermione who was currently working with the Department of Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures would visit twice or thrice a week to borrow a book from the library and chat for hours with Uncle Percy who was a genius. Ron joined them on most days. He had decided against joining the Auror department and had continued with his work at George's shop and was now a partner with George. They worked well as a team, not as brilliant as the twins but well enough for them to be one of the richest wizards in Britain.

Harry greeted the portrait of Artemis and Cassiopeia Potter on his way to the study. He had become friendly with pretty much all the existing portraits. Artemis Potter had hazel eyes and wavy brown hair, apparently all Potters had wavy brown hair, the stuck at odd angles hair belonged to the Rosewoods. Cassiopeia Potter on the other hand had light blue eyes and platinum blond hair and her skin was paler than Draco Malfoy's, she looked like a formidable porcelain figure in her royal blue dress robes. Leonis, who was the oldest portrait at the Manor, had told him that the art of magical portraits was discovered in his time and thus all the other ancestors could only be found in the family tree tapestry hanging in the library. Harry yawned widely as he opened the door of the study. This was the first day of the twenty five days of necessary vacation that every ministry employee had to take at the end of the year if they had not taken any personal breaks for the entire year. He had saved his holidays for Christmas. He was now on leave till the middle of January. He greeted his parents before plopping down in his chair and pouring himself a cup of tea. This was his daily ritual; he would have tea, breakfast and dinner in the study, with his family and Ginny.

Ginny had settled in with the rest of them easily. She loved them and they adored her. "So, what are your plans for today?" Lily asked. Harry shrugged.

"Andromeda would be dropping Teddy here by 11:00 before going to the restaurant. I guess I will finish my Christmas shopping with him." Andromeda was helping Mr. Shelby with the restaurant, and was currently responsible for the Yuletide Ball that the Potters threw. Harry had been against throwing a ball but his mother, grandmother, great aunt Thea and Ginny had convinced him to continue with this one Potter family tradition. Harry had looked over the guest list, which comprised of the DA, Weasleys, Hermione, Hagrid, the professors at Hogwarts, his fellow Aurors, the Minister for Magic, remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix and some pureblood families that Potters were friendly with. The press was banned, to the relief of more than half of the guests who were all celebrated war heroes now.

"Will Ginny be joining you?"

Harry yawned widely, "Yes. Her practice ends at 12:00. She plans to have lunch with Luna and Hermione at Diagon Alley and then help me with the shopping."

"Aren't you going to Diagon Alley?"

"Merlin! No. We are going to muggle London. I don't want to make the front page again."

Sirius, James, Remus and Tonks chuckled as Lily grinned. Dorea and Charlus were probably visiting other portraits. "That was hilarious! Ginny almost gave me a run for my money, as far as acting was concerned." Sirius said.

Harry shook his head remembering that day in November.

 _Harry had returned home from his trip to Diagon Alley with Teddy to find a livid Ginny pacing angrily in the study._

 _"_ _Ginny?" He asked, as Teddy shrieked happily and toddled over to her, "Is everything alright?"_

 _She gave him a death glare, as she picked Teddy up in her arms. She settled Teddy in his play pen before rounding up and looking accusingly at him. "Why didn't you tell me Harry?" she seethed._

 _"_ _Tell you what? Ginny I don't know what you are talking about. What is it?" He asked panicking a little; he had never seen Ginny look this angry._

 _"_ _Don't lie to me, Potter. How could you do this to me?" She almost shrieked at him._

 _"_ _Ginny, love" he said now panicking completely, "I swear I didn't do anything. I am not lying to you. I would never hurt you, believe me." He pleaded._

 _"_ _Believe you? Believe you?" She said raising her voice "I will believe you once you explain this to me." She picked up the Evening Prophet and threw it at him. Harry caught it deftly; unfolding it he saw his picture. This was from his afternoon at Diagon Alley; this was when Teddy had started fussing a little, so Harry had thrown him in the air and caught him as Teddy shrieked with laughter. Teddy was sporting messy black hair and looked a lot like a mini Harry. The caption read_

 ** _Harry Potter's missing year explained!_**

 ** _\- Rita Skeeter_**

 ** _This afternoon, your correspondent found herself face to face with an old friend, Harry Potter the- boy- who- lived. Nearly all of us have wondered about the year when Harry Potter vanished from the face of this planet. It was rumoured that he was trying to find ways to bring He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named down, but your correspondent now has glaring evidence that this might not be the truth at all._**

 ** _It is universally known Harry Potter was travelling with Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, could it be that they were trying to protect the offspring of the-boy-who-lived? Looking at the young one in Potter's arms and his resemblance to the man-who-won, one must if not but wonder what could be the relationship between the two of them. Potter was later on joined by Miss. Hermione Granger, who also looked pretty attached to the baby._**

 ** _Everyone knows that Hermione Granger is currently dating Ronald Weasley proprietor of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes while Harry Potter is dating the budding Quidditch talent from Holyhead Harpies and the sister of Ronald Weasley; Ginevra Weasley._**

 ** _Your correspondent has reported earlier that Miss Granger has a taste for famous men and is intelligent enough to play with their emotions without incriminating herself. Does this mean that Miss Granger has been able to play with the affections of two unsuspecting boys and escape the chains of motherhood?_**

 ** _Do the Weasley siblings know about the true background of the child or have Harry Potter and Hermione Granger been successful in cooking up a good enough explanation for them? Whatever the case maybe, your correspondent wishes the very best for the Weasley siblings and hopes that their hearts won't be broken by the shenanigans of Mr. Potter and Miss. Granger._**

 ** _For more details on Miss Granger turn to page 4_**

 ** _For more details on Mister Potter refer pages 2 and 3_**

 ** _For more details on Ronald Weasley refer page 5_**

 ** _For more details on Ginevra Weasley refer the sports section._**

 _Harry had read through the article looking nonplussed. Ginny burst out laughing, so did his grandparents, parents, Sirius, Remus, Dora and Teddy joined in with the rest of them._

 _"_ _You should have seen your face!" Ginny gasped wiping tears from her eyes._

 _"_ _That was not funny!" He growled._

 _"_ _It was" she countered._

 _Harry stared mutinously at them. "Merlin Ginny! You scared the daylights out of me!"_

 _"_ _I know; that was the entire plan." She said gasping._

 _"_ _Aren't you mad at Skeeter?" He asked after taking a calming breath and pinching the bridge of his nose._

 _Ginny laughed loudly, "Why would I be mad at her? This piece of shit was actually amusing. Also, Hermione and I are suing her for defamation and harassment."_

 _Harry gaped at her._

 _Ginny shrugged, "Hermione sent me an owl as soon as she got the paper. She is not getting hate mail as such because people are afraid of hexing her or causing her harm in any way but she is getting a lot of angry letters. So we decided to sue the Prophet and Skeeter for spewing lies."_

 _Harry nodded, still annoyed at Ginny for scaring him like that; Ginny grinned at him. "Stop being a big baby, in case you haven't noticed, we have to take care of your love child whose birth you have explained away."_

 _Harry grinned at her "You will pay for that Weasley." He said mischievously._

 _She rolled her eyes, "Bring it on Potter."_

 _"_ _You forget, I am the son of a Marauder, Godson of another Marauder and Godfather of the third Marauder's son. And the Marauders were the Gods of pranking."_

 _"_ _And you forget that I was raised by Fred and George Weasley who drove Zonko's out of business."_

That had led on to a prank war that had lasted a week. Harry and Ginny called it quits when Ginny had to play the final game of the season with purple skin that won't fade for a week and Harry had to go to work, looking like a drag queen with everlasting make up which would take three days to wear off. Harry grinned at that memory. He was however pulled out of his thoughts when he heard a soft knock at his door before Ginny's head peeped in. She grinned at him, shoving the door open with one arm, as she carried Teddy in her other arm.

"Hey. I thought you had practice till 12." Harry said getting up to meet Teddy, who had slid down Ginny's arm and toddled up to Harry as soon as he saw Harry. Harry swung Teddy up in his arms, who screamed with happiness before giggling as Harry nuzzled Teddy.

"I did." Ginny said, walking to the desk to dump her bag as well as Teddy's bag on it. "But all of us kind of protested. It's the holiday season, for heaven's sake! Who practices Quidditch on Christmas?"

"He did." Sirius, Remus and Lily said simultaneously pointing at James, while James exclaimed, "I did!" Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Well, of course you did. You are crazy about Quidditch. You declared that you loved me a little more than you love that nutter over there," Ginny said pointing at Harry; who stuck his tongue out at her "just because I chose to play professional Quidditch as a chaser." Ginny grinned cheekily at Harry who rolled his eyes.

"Say what you want, Gin. Everybody loves the Chosen One." Harry said with a cheeky smile.

"So, now you are the Chosen One?" Ginny asked arching an eyebrow.

Harry grinned at her, "As long as I can use it to prove my point."

Ginny rolled her eyes before smacking his arm. Teddy being the monkey that he was copied Ginny and smacked Harry's cheek before screaming with glee.

"You are making this kid violent." Harry muttered, glaring at Teddy who was giving him a toothy smile. Ginny ruffled Teddy's black messy hair, before pecking Harry on his cheek and walking towards the door. "I am going for a shower and then I think I will head out to Diagon Alley, meet the girls a little earlier and spend some quality time with them. Merlin knows I need some girl bonding time." She said before leaving.

 **AN: So, another two chapters. You know what to do. Read and Review. Let me warn you though, there are no plot twists of any sort, from now I would try and restrict it to moments and days. Important ones. Happy Reading people.**


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: You know who owns the Potter Universe.**

Harry paced outside the shops with Teddy in his arms. For once he was glad that the attention from passer bys was directed more towards Teddy than towards him. He smiled kindly at two women who approached him, cooing at Teddy. Teddy was sporting black hair and emerald green eyes; he was bundled up in the warm jumper Mrs. Weasley made for him, with a matching hat, scarf and mittens.

Teddy buried his head in the nook of Harry's neck, looking at the two women shyly as they cooed at him and then proceeded on to congratulate Harry on being such a nice father at such a young age. Harry smiled at them shyly, as the two women walked away chattering among themselves about the precious, little, shy baby. Harry looked down at Teddy who was busy pulling lint out of Harry's scarf, "You hear that Teddybear? They really don't know the menace that you are, do they?" Teddy ignored Harry, concentrating on the lint as Harry rubbed his nose with Teddy's nose. Teddy gave him a look, nodding slightly, before going back to working on his scarf.

Harry grinned at Teddy, before giving him a quick kiss on the forehead and looking around, waiting for Ginny. "She is late Teddy." He told her, "How will we finish our shopping in time?"

"No, Haeee." Teddy said without looking up at him.

"We won't be able to finish our shopping today? Is that what you are saying?"

"Yes. ICE-EEEEEM" he screamed as his head turned to a nearby ice-cream shop.

"No! No ice cream. It's too cold out here, you will get sick."

"Ice-eeem." Teddy demanded stubbornly.

"No. But we can get you some chocolate. Would you like some chocolate, Teddybear?"

"Chotlate." Teddy screamed gleefully.

"That's right, let Ginny come and then we will go get you some chocolate. Okay?"

"Okay. Chotlate." Teddy said, tapping Harry's cheek. Harry grinned.

"You are stubborn little bugger, aren't you?"

"Yes." Teddy nodded seriously. Harry laughed.

"HARRY!" "HARRY!"

Harry turned to the familiar voice. "Dudley!" Harry said surprised, as Dudley dodged the crowd to get near him, followed by Vernon and Petunia Dursley. "What are you doing here?" Dudley asked Harry. Harry glanced uneasily at his Aunt and Uncle who were eyeing Teddy with contempt and anger. His arm curled protectively around Teddy, Dudley followed his movement. His eyes widened as he saw Teddy.

"So, this is little Teddy?" Dudley asked extending his finger to shake Teddy's hand who was eyeing Dudley with interest.

Harry smiled at Dudley before nodding as he watched Teddy hold Dudley's finger in his chubby hands and shaking it.

"Hello, Teddy! I am Dudley, your Godfather's cousin. It was nice meeting you." Dudley said smiling broadly at the baby.

"Yes." Teddy replied smiling toothily at Dudley and proceeded to tap Harry's cheek impatiently.

"You didn't tell me though. What are you doing in this part of London?" Dudley asked Harry.

"Remember the newspaper article I told you about last month?" Dudley nodded.

"Well, I don't want a repeat of that. So, I am finishing my shopping here. What are you doing here?"

"Finishing our Christmas shopping." He said pointing towards his parents and him.

"Harry!" Harry turned to see Ginny as Teddy gave a delighted squeal throwing his arms out for Ginny, his hair turning a vivid green under his woollen cap. Ginny gave Harry a peck on his cheek, taking Teddy from him before noticing the people around him. Ginny had never met the Dursleys; she looked curiously at the three people in front of Harry, guessing who they were but choosing to keep her mouth shut.

"Harry, is this Ginny?" Dudley asked looking curiously at Ginny. Harry nodded. Dudley smiled at her before sticking out his hand for her. She shook his hand, politely.

"Harry does you no justice when he talks about you." Dudley said smiling warmly at her. "I am Dudley by the way. His cousin." Ginny nodded. She knew that Dudley had contacted Harry last Christmas, after returning to England safely and since then they had met twice a month, trying to build a cordial relationship. She looked at the older couple behind Dudley; they were busy eyeing Teddy with open revulsion.

"These are my parents. Vernon and Petunia Dursley." Vernon ignored Ginny turning purple, while Petunia gave Ginny a stiff nod, her lips pursed. Ginny nodded coolly at them before turning to Harry.

"We are running late. We should get going." Harry smiled gratefully at her.

"It was really nice meeting you, Dudley." Ginny said politely.

"I was nice to finally meet you too, Ginny. You should join us sometime for coffee, bring little Teddy along too." Dudley said.

"Sure Dudley. See you soon. Goodbye." Ginny turned walking away to give Harry sometime to catch up with her after saying his goodbyes.

"So, I guess I will see you next Sunday." Dudley said, sticking his hand out. Harry had been quiet the entire time eyeing his Aunt and Uncle with mixed emotions. Now that he had a family, he knew what they had deprived him of, making him feel worthless.

"There is a Yuletide Ball at my place on Christmas Eve. I will send you an inivitation and the details tonight." Harry blurted out before he could stop himself. "Sure." Dudley said with a slight nod. Harry nodded in response before turning around and walking away.

Petunia stared at the retreating back of her nephew. "We won't go." Vernon spat angrily.

"He is just like his parents." Petunia added with disgust "Not even a proper adult and already has a child, though I didn't see any ring on that girl's finger.-"

"Because they are not engaged or married." Dudley said impatiently, "As far as the baby is concerned. His name is Teddy Lupin, Harry is his Godfather."

"You buy that bit lie from the freak!" Petunia seethed, "The child looked exactly like he did as a baby."

"That's because the child is a metamorph or something. Harry told me, he could change his looks at will to look like anyone. Though currently he changes his looks as a sign of identification, by changing his looks he lets people know that he recognises them as individuals and has a specific look for them." Dudley explained.

"The child is an even bigger freak than him then?" Petunia asked.

"Mum please. That's enough. If Harry sends us an invitation, I would go. And I would take Caroline with me. You are welcome to come with me; I doubt he would resent that."

Harry walked away with Ginny, holding her hand.

"Hey Gin."

"Yeah?" Ginny asked distractedly pulling Teddy away from a display window.

"Don't ever leave me alone with them again."

Ginny looked up surprised, "Why? What happened? Did they do something? I swear I-"

"Iinvitedthemtotheyuletideball." Harry finished quickly.

"What? And say it a little slowly this time."

"I said, I uh… I invited Dudley to the ball and I kind of implied that Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon could come too."

"WHAT?!"

"Err… Yeah." Harry said, rubbing the back of his neck before snatching Teddy up in his arms to prevent him from running away.

"Harry Potter! Why would you do something like that?"

"I don't know. I don't really know. When I saw them looking at Teddy and you like that, I just wanted to show them all that I have achieved despite what they did to me. I now have a family, people who care about me, friends, a home and I am worth something. I am not the ungrateful brat who deserved nothing good in life anymore. I know it sounds lame." Harry finished looking down ashamed of himself.

"Oh Harry! You don't have to prove yourself to them, if anything they should prove their worth to humanity at large. Those foul, evil-"

"Ginny!" Harry warned glancing down at Teddy, who was observing Ginny's outburst with interest.

Ginny looked from Harry to Teddy, her brows furrowed before she burst off laughing. Teddy jumped, clinging on Harry's neck, before giggling away with Ginny.

"Wait, till they meet the portraits of all the Potters that existed in the last 500 years. OH MY GOD! Sirius, Remus, James and Lily would probably ask the elves to terrify them mercilessly." Ginny said before doubling over with laughter. Harry grinned and Teddy squealed pulling Harry's hair and pointing at a toy train set on one of the shop windows.

Ginny bound up the stairs of the Manor to reach the study, grinning like a maniac. Harry followed with a sleeping Teddy on his shoulder.

"What is it Ginny?" He heard his father, as he opened the door. "Come on, you know I can't handle mysteries. Tell us, what did Harry do?"

"Harry!" Sirius called, as he saw Harry enter. "What did you do? Ginny is refusing to give us any information."

Harry sighed inwardly, he noticed Remus and Dora were absent from their portrait, probably visiting Andromeda at Sirius' old flat, and his grandparents were out too. Sleepy bustled in, taking a sleeping Teddy from his arms and proceeding to Teddy's bedroom, assuring Harry that she would stay with Teddy.

"I kind of invited-"

"He invited the Dursleys to the ball!" Ginny exclaimed excitedly.

"WHAT?!" His mother shouted.

"Yes." Harry sighed, readying himself for a verbal onslaught.

"Why?" She asked. "Were you drunk? Were you imperiused? Confounded? Why the bloody hell would you invite _her_ to my home?"

"He has his reasons, Mrs. P- Lily." Ginny said, "But the good part is that they might come. You will finally get a chance to return the favour back to your sister." She finished, her eyes twinkling evilly.

"Excellent." James and Sirius said together, rubbing their hands as they went.

"Look," Harry said loudly. "They are still Dudley's parents and Dudley apologised and I forgave him and we got over it. We are trying to build a cordial relationship here."

"So? We won't harm Dudley. You can't present us with opportunity and expect us to lie low as far as Vernon and Petunia are concerned." His mother said defiantly.

"I am not saying that." Harry said before he grinned, "Just don't do something extreme. And I don't want to know about your plans. I am going to my room to sleep for a couple of hours, before everyone comes over for dinner. Gin, wake me up when they start arriving in." Ginny nodded grinning widely. His parents and Godfather were wearing similar expressions.

"Doc." Harry called before leaving; the said elf appeared with a loud crack.

"Yes, Master Harry?"

"Are the rooms prepared for our guests?" Doc nodded. The Weasleys, Hermione and Andromeda were coming over to stay at the Manor till Christmas.

Harry nodded, "And Kreacher's room has been prepared?" Doc nodded again.

"Are you sure you guys won't be overwhelmed? You have to cook food for 12 people, take care of an old and sick house elf, you insist on looking after Teddy, decorate the Manor, help Andromeda prepare for the Ball because I am useless there. It looks like a lot. We can always request Minerva to lend us some house elves from Hogwarts."

Doc rolled his eyes, so did the other occupants of the room. "There is this helpful thing called, elf magic. I think I told you about that when you first voiced your concern. The more work we have, the more excited we are. Contrary to popular belief, free house elves like working too, more out of the love for the family that they are living with. Stop trying to steal our thunder! Now, if you will excuse me, we have to prepare dinner for 12 people." The elf stuck his tongue out at Harry before disapparating. The remaining occupants laughed before shooing Harry out to plan the perfect prank for the Dursleys.

 **AN: So, here is another chapter. I want your opinion on this one though. Everyone knows that Vernon and Petunia would die before allowing Dudley to step into the magical world on his own, so they would attend the ball if Dudley decides to attend, which he would because he is trying to make it up to Harry for being a menace during their childhood. Do you want to know about the prank or should I move on to next Yuletide Ball? Please do let me know. I will wait eagerly for your response. Read and review. Happy Reading people! :D**


	22. Chapter 22

**AN: All characters belong to JK Rowling.**

 **5** **th** **January 2000**

Harry grinned as he saw the little orange spot on the carpet. The memories of the Yuletide Ball made him laugh even now. He didn't think he would ever be able to get the expressions of Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon out of his head. On that note, he ran up the stairs taking two at a time to reach Ginny's room. Ever since Ginny had moved in, they alternated between sleeping in her room and sleeping in his father's room which was now his. Harry did not feel that he had earned the right to sleep in the bedroom of the Lord of the Manor. He entered her room without bothering to knock; Ginny was in the process of changing her clothes and was currently standing in front of Harry in a long t-shirt that barely covered her knickers. Harry growled in frustration, not caring to look away. Harry wanted to do things right, if not for anyone's sake then for Ginny's mother who had placed her trust on him but looking at Ginny right now, he felt his resolve weaken. Harry knew that she wanted him too; it was evident in her eyes, which were mirroring his desire.

Those eyes were his undoing. Without even thinking about it, he crossed the room and grabbed her, his lips seeking her lips desperately. One hand wound up on her waist while the other travelled up and down her body, fisting her flimsy t-shirt he growled as Ginny moaned. Without breaking the kiss he lifted her lithe form up and sat on the bed, making her straddle him. Harry pushed her t-shirt up, trying to pull it off, Ginny tugged impatiently at his t-shirt before ripping it off. Harry grinned against her lips before removing her t-shirt. She had pushed him down on his back as she climbed on top of him. Harry moaned as her tongue licked his ear lobe, before she caught it between her teeth and pulled. "Ginny" he said in tortured whisper. He felt her lips curve against his neck, she nibbled him there, and he let out a low moan. She would be his death someday; her tongue caressed his neck, those soft lips sucking his skin, leaving tiny love bites marking him as hers. Harry tore away Ginny's bra in frustration, a part of him aching for Ginny's tongue and soft lips apart from her soft folds. He pulled Ginny's face to his, seeking her tongue with his own, his hard penis already poking her warm red panties through his boxer shorts.

In one swift motion he flipped her, getting on top of her. His hand found her breast, he pinched that nipple hard. She gasped in his mouth. "Ginny, do you want me?" She moaned in response, he pinched her nipple harder. "Say it, Ginny. Say that you want me."

"I want you, Harry." She panted. Harry kissed her neck, slowly moving down to her breasts. He licked her now hard nipple, before taking it in and sucking it hard, as his other hand massaged her other breast. Ginny moaned, pulling his hair. Harry moved to her other breast, taking her nipple between his teeth he gently pulled before sucking her breast. Ginny mewled, Harry let his hand wander down, reaching the rim of her panties. He moved his hand between her legs, her panties were soaked. Harry slipped in his hand rubbing her warm, wet core. Ginny moaned, pulling Harry's face to his. She looked tortured, "Harry." She whispered. "Harry, please." This time Harry didn't want to stop either. Ginny was the one for him. She was strong and smart and beautiful and right now she was begging him to love her. Ginny let her head fall back as Harry tore her panties away. Harry bit Ginny's lower lip before sliding his tongue in. His hand steadied her head as the thumb of his other hand placed itself firmly on her clitoris as he rubbed it vigorously. Harry's lips swallowed Ginny's gasps and moans. He could feel her trying to raise her hips under him, her back was arched, rubbing her breasts against his chest. She was getting wetter and wetter and there was a longing ache between Harry's legs.

It was as if his penis was responding to her wetness. As if every fibre in his body was answering to the call of her skin. Ginny's back arched violently under him, her fingers raked his shoulders and back in urgency. Harry let go of her lips, putting all his energy in rubbing her clitoris. Ginny's entire body shuddered as she let out a loud moan before she slumped back on the bed tired. Harry stared at her red face. A fine sheen was covering her skin, making her glow. She was ethereal. The longing in his loins grew. "Ginny" he breathed, pressing his pelvic against hers, making her feel his hardness. Ginny opened her eyes and stared at him, asking him to repeat what he made her say. "Ginny" he moaned. She kissed him before ordering him to get out of his boxer shorts. Harry obliged gladly. He felt oddly exposed as he watched Ginny look at him with those lustful eyes.

Ginny ran a finger down the length of his bloated penis, before massaging it gently. Harry sighed in relief. What she did next made him moan loudly. She kissed his crown before licking it and then started sucking his penis, taking all of him in at times. Harry couldn't take it any longer. He pushed Ginny down before climbing on top of her and quickly performed an anti- pregnancy charm. He pushed himself inside her soft velvety fold but did not enter her completely. Ginny cried out in pain but pushed her hips up nevertheless wrapping her legs around his waist, securing him to her. Harry could see that this was hurting her. He stilled himself inside her letting her get used to his penis, before he gently started thrusting. Ginny moaned in pleasure and pain. Harry moaned alongside her. He suddenly remembered that keeping her on top would allow her to control access and get used to the pain. He flipped them, lying down on his back he helped Ginny straddle him and lower herself on his penis.

She moaned before screaming loudly in pleasure. Harry started moving underneath her, pushing himself further inside her as she encouraged him for more. Ginny grabbed her breasts, throwing her head back in pleasure and then her fingers slid down to her clitoris. She started pleasuring herself, making her walls inside hold on tighter to Harry's penis. Harry grabbed her waist as he pushed himself inside her faster and deeper. Within moments, Harry came screaming Ginny's name, soon followed by Ginny. Harry fell back on the pillows exhausted and Ginny fell on top of him. She gave him a quick kiss before rolling off to his side. Harry grabbed her waist pulling her closer as he hoisted himself on his elbow. He needed to touch her. "Your mother is going to hate me for breaking my word." He said quietly as his thumb pressed a large purple love bite between her breasts.

"No, she won't." Ginny said smirking. Harry looked at her confused. "What she doesn't know about won't kill her." Ginny explained with a wink.

Harry shook his head. "She will find out. Mothers have a way of finding out. Plus I think I would feel really weird around her especially when she would be being all motherly to me while I would be dreaming of her naked daughter, writhing in pleasure beneath me."

Ginny laughed. "You give her too much credit. Plus, I told her that I intend to corrupt the virgin boy-who-lived whether she likes it or not." Harry stared at her shell shocked. "Oh, come on Harry! That was really under handed of her to play with your guilty conscience and sense of honour. I agree she is my mother and she wants the best for me but she can't keep on controlling everything about my life. We have been living together for 3 months. And I love you. I didn't want to wait."

"I love you too." Harry whispered. "So, I guess you have finally forgiven me for ending our relationship and going away and then dying without saying goodbye?"

Ginny laughed. "I forgave you ages ago. That's why I took the next step and moved in with you."

"Why didn't you tell me? Here I was killing myself thinking about how much I had hurt you and you never bothered to tell me." Harry huffed.

She laughed before reaching up to kiss his jaw. "I couldn't help it. You looked so adorable with those puppy eyes trained on me. Those unsure steps you would take towards me. You don't know how difficult it was for me to run to your arms and tell you all was forgiven."

"Then why didn't you?" Harry asked half irritated, half relieved.

"Nah! It was just too much fun watching you fumble. Plus your mother said you should suffer a little more. She said she did the same with your dad."

"Mum is evil! And what do you mean she did that with dad?"

"I don't know the entire story but it seems like James kind of broke up with Lily as soon as he joined the order. He did so to protect her, they stayed away from each other for a year but then they were just meant to be so they found their way back to each other."

Harry frowned; he would have to ask his dad for the story. Ginny tapped his cheek, "She also told me that pushing away their loved ones in an attempt to protect them is a Potter family trait. Apparently your grandfather did that too when Dorea and Charlus returned from a mission and Dorea was badly injured as she was targeted for being his wife."

"I don't even want to know what happened next. Grandma is a Black. She would have been vindictive."

"Oh! She was. Instead of waiting around for him to see sense, she just left. She told his mother about it and kept her posted but she just left. Later on as Charlus was going crazy trying to find her, his mother told him that since he had pushed her away it was his fault that now she is in love with someone else and is seeking a divorce. Charlus went off his rocker. Tracked her down and beat up Marius, her brother who was a squib. Since Marius had been isolated at an early age no one knew about him. Long story short, Charlus says he never tried to act like a noble prat with her again."

Harry shook his head, smiling a little. "However" Ginny said looking thoughtfully at him. "I think I let you off easy. I should have done something like what your grandmother did. I would have had real time options too, unlike her, she chose to lie about it and used her brother for that lie. Let's see Blaise would have helped out gladly, Nott too. Say Harry, How about Krum? He is mmmphmphmph"

Harry had effectively silenced Ginny by kissing her hard. "Hey!" Ginny protested as they broke apart. "You can't distract me from formulating a good revenge plan."

Harry climbed on top of Ginny and pinched her nipple. Ginny moaned. "You want revenge?" He asked her roughly, his breathing laboured. Ginny smirked. "Fine, I will give you revenge." He growled before teasing Ginny till she ordered, fought and begged him to take her. Only when he was satisfied that she was absolutely desperate for his touch, did he let himself ease the ache in his loins, losing himself inside her again.

"Merlin! I love you." Harry breathed as he pulled Ginny to his chest. "Don't ever talk about any other man even for fun. I might just have to kill him."

Ginny laughed as Harry smirked at her reaction. "You are such a typical jealous boyfriend Potter."

Harry laughed. "Well, when you are dating someone as amazing as Ginny Weasley, you kind of feel insecure. You see she is perfect and sometimes I feel that loving the very earth she walks on will not be enough for everything she has done for me."

Ginny smacked his chest. "You saved me Harry, not just from Riddle but from myself too."

"And you brought me to life Ginny. You don't even know in how many ways you have saved me."

"Let's call it even. I am tired; I don't have the strength to fight over who saved whom and how many times."

Harry kissed Ginny's hair, before humming the lullaby he learnt from his mother, the lullaby she used to sing to him and now he sings for Teddy. Ginny was asleep in less than a minute, Harry stayed awake, staring the ceiling, marvelling his luck before giving in to dreams of red hair and kisses.

 **AN: I know this might not be what you were expecting. But I am suffering from a major writer's block as far as this story is concerned. I know where I want to take it finally but I am kind of losing myself on the little details, I have written some really into the future things already, so I am just moving the story to those moments. Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter. Please do read and review.**

 **Also thank you vividreader54, jehoel1990, johnsocz, snoepie, dgf8086, POTTERPHILE and minerdude for your love and support. This has been long overdue. Once again Happy Reading. Please do read and review.**

 **Love**

 **The Fishes.**


	23. Chapter 23

**AN: The story is mine. The universe belongs to Queen Rowling.**

 **15** **th** **November 2001**

It had snowed early that year. Little Teddy Lupin giggled mischievously as he hid under a table, ready to give his Godfather a scare. Little did he know that he would hear the news of his life as he sat under the table. Teddy steadied himself as he heard hurried footsteps towards the door of the study. He knew from practice that this brisk walk belonged to Aunt Hermione. It was followed by the unhurried measured footfalls of Uncle Ron, followed by the feather light, almost silent footfall of his Godfather. Teddy could smell the tension in the air and it scared him. Before he could let Harry know that he was in the room, Harry started speaking.

"Here is the plan. Ron you will gather all the Weasley's here tomorrow for brunch and a game of friendly Quidditch." Harry said. "I will charm the snitch to open at her touch to reveal the ring. Hermione you will have to be very precise, the message should appear in the sky at the exact moment."

Teddy could smell Harry's anxiety and it was making him antsy. He knew from experience that a tensed Harry meant a very worried aunt Ginny. Though Ginny never expressed her anxiety in front of Teddy, Teddy was always able to smell it; not only on her but on his grandmother, Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron.

"Don't worry Harry. It would be fine. By tomorrow night, Ginny would have agreed to marry you." Hermione said soothingly.

"Yeah, mate." Ron added in, "She has dreamt of this day since she was 10. She would say yes without a doubt. After all you are boy with eyes like freshly pickled toads. Who wouldn't want that in their life partner?"

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed, smacking his arm though she found it hard to suppress her laughter. Harry on the other hand blushed deeply, seemingly at a loss for words. Teddy could sense excitement, anxiety, happiness and sadness rolling off from the three adults. So, Darry was going to marry Aunt Ginny, but Teddy knew that this would have happened soon. Aunt Ginny had promised him that he could call her "mum" after she married Darry. Why was Uncle Ron sad then? And why was Darry so tensed? All Darry had to do was ask Aunt Ginny. Maybe because Aunt Ginny could be as scary as Grandma Molly when she got angry, maybe Darry was afraid that Aunt Ginny would get angry. But aunt Ginny never got angry with Teddy; he would go ask Aunt Ginny during dinner.

"Hey, Harry." Hermione said, "Have you seen Teddy at all? Normally he is up to some mischief or the other, egged on by your father, Sirius and Remus."

"Actually, even I haven't seen him since I got here." Ron added, "Wasn't he staying with you for the weekend?"

"He is staying with us. I bet he is in the kitchen, trying to smuggle in some chocolate before dinner." Harry replied. "Let's go down to the kitchen and catch that little bugger red handed."

Teddy suppressed his giggle as he sat under the table. How stupid of Darry! Teddy had already smuggled in some chocolate for dinner soon after lunch. He giggled as he scrambled out from under the desk and looked cautiously at the portraits. All portraits were empty save for one where three Marauders stood watching Teddy amusedly.

"So, little Moony," Sirius said. "What news do you have for us?"

Teddy grinned as he looked at his Moony da and Uncles Padfoot and Prongs. "Darry is going to marry Aunt Ginny." He told them truthfully, "But he is scared of asking her to marry him. Aunt Ginny is scary when she gets angry. Darry might be superman but not in front of Aunt Ginny."

James, Sirius and Remus laughed out loud at this and Teddy grinned at them. "Go have dinner little prankster." James said, "It's almost dinner time."

Teddy grinned before running out of the study and down to the kitchens. "There you are. Where have you been all this time? We were worried about you." Harry said pulling Teddy in his arms as soon as Teddy entered the kitchen.

"I was hiding. I wanted to scare you." Teddy replied truthfully, his turquoise hair turning black near the roots. Before Harry could ask Teddy about his hiding place, Ginny entered the kitchen with Andromeda and conversation flowed from one topic to another as Teddy played around. Once dinner was served Teddy sat next to Ginny who helped him finish his soup, while she talked to the rest of the group.

Teddy tapped Ginny's hand once to catch her attention, but he failed miserably. He tapped her hand again but no results came out whatsoever. "Aunt Ginny!" Teddy exclaimed the third time. This caught Ginny's attention. "What is it Teddy?" Ginny asked, "You have to finish your soup before you get any dessert. Do you want more soup?" Teddy shook his head. Ginny looked at him quizzically.

"Will you marry Darry and become my mum?" Teddy chirped excitedly.

The table had gone silent at Teddy's question. Ginny looked shocked, "If Harry wants to marry me of course I will."

"Oh he does! He wants to marry you, but he is scared of your temper."

Harry wanted the earth to open a huge hole and pull him in. Ginny gave him a look before going back to her conversation with Teddy.

Later that night after they had put Teddy to bed, Ginny rolled over to Harry and kissed his neck lightly. "You know, I think it was adorable to make Teddy propose to me on your behalf, but where is my ring Mr. Potter?"

Harry smiled as he snuggled closer to her. "You will get a ring Miss. Weasley and soon enough."

"And you won't tell me how."

"No way. Teddy almost ruined my surprise. I wonder how he got to know about it though."

"He must have overheard you. He said he was going to hide under your table in the study to scare you."

"That little bugger." Harry said with a laugh.

"He makes everything perfect." Ginny said kissing Harry's cheek.

"That he does." Harry said before he kissed Ginny softly. "Thank you for showering him with so much love."

"Don't be silly Harry. Teddy will always be my first child. I was there when he was born."

"You are an amazing woman, Ginny Weasley."

"That's what they say, Mr. Potter." Harry laughed as he pulled her on his chest and stroked her hair as she gradually fell asleep.

 **AN: That's another chapter. Please do read and review. The next chapter would be published as a separate fic as well as a continuation of this story. Read whatever but do review. Happy Reading.**

 **Love,**

 **The Fishes**


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: Story is all mine. But the genius belongs to JK.**

 **25** **th** **October 2002**

Draco Malfoy didn't even stumble as he jumped out of the fireplace at Potter Manor. Without even stopping to brush off the soot from his robes or hair he rushed into the hall like a madman on a mission. He collided with an elf; or rather that nefarious creature collided with him making him lose his balance. He cursed as he struggled to get to his feet.

"Here, let me help you Mr. Malfoy." The elf squeaked, offering Draco a hand. Draco waved it off and jumped up. "Where is he?" He growled at the house elf already running up the stairs. "Master Harry is not well at all. He needs rest. You cannot meet him." Draco banged his fists on the banisters as he hit an invisible barrier near the top of the stairs.

"Let me through." Draco said through clenched teeth, eyes flashing dangerously. He ignored the portraits who were admonishing him for his behaviour. "No." The elf replied calmly, "Master Harry is unwell. He needs rest. You cannot meet him. I can call mistress Ginny if you need to meet someone urgently. But you will have to please wait in the drawing room."

"No, I have to see him." Draco replied, barely keeping himself from wringing his hands.

"I am sorry Mister Malfoy. But you cannot meet master." The elf repeated calmly.

"You don't understand!" Draco shouted angrily, "Something has happened. I need to see him."

"Malfoy?"

Draco turned; it was Ginny Weasley, Potter's fiancé. Draco almost rolled his eyes to heaven in gratitude. She would understand, she would take him to Potter and Potter would have to help Draco.

"Weasley." He said, "I need to meet Potter. It's something urgent."

"Harry is unwell, Malfoy." Draco started shaking his head violently, "Can't this wait?"

Draco glared at her. "Look Weasley, I am not very happy about being here. I wouldn't be here if something really bad hadn't happened. Let me through Potter really needs to know this."

"What is it, Malfoy? Maybe I can help or someone else. I can call a couple of aurors from his office. Is your mother fine?"

"My mother is fine. Its Aunt Andromeda and Teddy- they were supposed to come home yesterday. They didn't show up, we never got any owl either. This morning I went to their place. It was empty, no signs of struggle. They are missing. I don't know what to do. Potter has to help. It's his Godson we are talking about." Draco looked at her helplessly, trying very hard to not breakdown in front of Ginny Weasley.

"Bashful, please let Mr. Malfoy through. And bring some tea to the study." She gave Draco a weird look before turning on her heel and walking down the long corridor. Draco hurried after her into the study.

"Sit." Weasley said, pointing out to the armchair in front of her. Draco dropped into the chair and thanked her for the tea. Before he could ask her to bring him to Potter, he heard a knock behind him. He turned to see a very tired Andromeda Tonks standing by the door. Draco rushed up to his aunt and before he could stop himself and act like a Malfoy should, now that he knew his aunt was fine, he had gathered her in his arms.

"Oh thank Merlin! Mother and I have been worried sick. We waited for your owl last night when that didn't turn up, I went over to check your house and it was empty. I thought- I thought… Thank Merlin, you are fine. Is Teddy with you? Is he here? Is he okay? Aunt Meda you look tired, did something happen? Is Teddy fine? Does Potter know?"

Draco would have asked a million questions all centered around Teddy had Weasley not put a silencing charm on him. He glared at her angrily, before turning to look worriedly at his aunt. She smiled tiredly at him. "Teddy is here. Don't worry. I am sorry I wasn't able to send that owl last night or this morning. Harry and Teddy are down with Dragon Pox. Teddy was burning up last night. All of us were so busy trying to get his fever down that I forgot to send you an owl. His fever broke a couple of hours ago. I was on my way to get some sleep when Doc told me that you were here."

Draco gave out a sigh of relief. It was only Dragon Pox. He had it when he was six. Not the best thing to happen to a kid, but it was a children's disease. "Can I go see him? I won't wake him up?"

"You don't have to worry about that. Teddy becomes extremely chatty during the full moon or when he is sick. He is busy driving Harry crazy. He will be glad to see you. But Draco dragon pox is a communicable disease. I can't permit you to see him if you haven't already had it."

"You don't have to worry about that. I had it when I was six. I will send mum an owl so that she doesn't worry a lot and then go see Teddy."

Draco climbed the stairs cursing old pureblood marriage customs. He couldn't believe that Malfoys were related to Potters, that at some point in history, a Malfoy was married to a Potter and they had half Malfoy, half Potter children. He took a left turn on the second floor, the door to the fourth room was open. He stood there debating about whether he should knock or not when Teddy's voice floated to him.

"I will be aunt Ginny's boyfriend when I grow up a little more. And later on when I become as big as you are; I will marry aunt Ginny." Draco smirked; Teddy really was the most interesting kid in the world.

"Teddybear, but aunt Ginny would be old by the time you grow up."

"No, you would get old. Aunt Ginny will never get old." Draco burst out laughing. He heard footsteps approaching the door. Potter was covered in boils which gave a greenish tint to his face. "Malfoy?" Potter asked surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Uncle Drake!" Potter's question was answered when a turquoise haired missile launched itself on Draco. Draco deftly picked up the boy. "Teddy! You shouldn't be running in your state. You should rest." Draco looked at Potter, as if asking for permission to enter the room. Potter stepped aside and allowed him to enter the room. Potter followed and settled himself on the armchair as Draco tucked Teddy in who promptly sat up in bed. "Uncle Drake, do you know I am a meta- metaorphagus like my mum. Look I can turn by hair blue." Teddy turned his hair blue and then green, followed by two more colours before he fell back on his bed exhausted. Draco watched Teddy as the little boy made buzzing noises before dozing off. How on earth was this kid so energetic in such sickness?

"I have been wondering that for a while too." Potter said quietly. Draco turned to look at him, but Potter was watching Teddy with such tenderness that Draco felt jealous. Obviously, Potter shared a bond with Teddy. For a wild moment Draco wanted to pick Teddy up and leave and never let anyone get in between Teddy and himself. He wished Teddy was all his.

"You know, initially I felt that resentment too." Potter added conversationally.

"What resentment are you talking about Potter?"

"You know what I am talking about. I hated it when Teddy would come back from Malfoy Manor and keep turning his hair and eyes to match yours or talk about you. It felt like you were stealing him away from me. I still hate it when he visits you, but then I see how much he cares about you. How happy he is about seeing you and I just accept it. But be warned Malfoy, if you ever hurt Teddy, you would have me to answer to."

Draco scoffed. He would never hurt Teddy; he would die for Teddy before hurting him. "As if Potter. I won't hide it. I hate how much he cares about you. But he is happy with you and even when I am not happy about it, I will live. But if you ever abandon him, even for his own protection, I would make sure that you never get to see him."

Harry's eyes flashed angrily. How dare Malfoy say anything like that! He would never abandon Teddy. "As if you can stop me from seeing him, if he wants to see me I will move heaven and earth to make that possible."

"And what if he doesn't want to see you?"

"Teddy would never do that with me. I don't know about you though." Harry spat angrily.

"What do you mean by that Potter? Why will Teddy not want to see me?" Deep down Draco knew what Potter's answer would be, he feared the same but he would be damned if he showed his fear.

"Oh! I don't know, maybe he wouldn't want to see you when he finds out that your father and you were in league with the people who killed his parents." Potter said.

Draco shot out of bed, pulling his wand in the process. Harry despite his illness was fast; he pulled out his wand at the same time. Both stood facing each other wands out ready to hex when the door opened behind Harry.

"What in the name of Merlin is going on here?" Ginny asked as she strode in and stood in front of both the men. Her eyes narrowed as she saw their outstretched hands and the wands pointing at each other. With her hands on her hips, Draco had to admit that the woman looked intimidating. "Harry?" It was more of a warning and less of a question. Draco quickly dropped his hand and stuffed his wand in pocket. He saw Potter do the same.

"Nothing happened, Ginny. We were just talking." Potter replied hesitantly.

"Harry Potter! I can't believe you were going to have a duel in here. Teddy is sick, you could have hit him and who knows what that would have done to him." Weasley didn't even raise her voice but Draco flinched. "And you." She said turning to him. He backed away from her, feeling ashamed of himself. "You come running in here like a madman because you thought that Teddy was in danger and yet, here you are with your wand out ready to hex Harry while Teddy is in the same room." Draco looked down; his guilt burning through him but Weasley did not stop there. "Really? Is your hatred for each other much more than what you feel for Teddy? Here you are fighting over the boy who loves you equally. Can't you be happy about it?"

When Ginny didn't get a reply from either of them, she knew they were not ready to let go. She pinched the bridge of her nose to calm herself. "Harry, go to your room and get some rest." Potter made a noise of protest, Weasley's eyes flashed dangerously and Draco watched amusedly as Potter nodded and turned to leave.

"Malfoy, you should go home too. He needs rest." Potter said as he turned to look at Draco, challenge evident in his eyes.

"No." Draco stated clearly and planted himself on Teddy's bed.

"What do you mean by no? Teddy needs his rest. I thought you cared about him." Potter sneered.

"I don't have to prove anything to you. But I am staying to take care of Teddy."

Potter bristled. "Are you saying that we can't take care of Teddy?"

"Seeing that you are suffering from dragon pox yourself, I would say no. Weasley is in the middle of the season and she really can't stop playing now, unless she hurts herself fatally. Aunt Meda is not exactly young and dragon pox needs constant attention."

"The house elves would gladly look after him. Not to mention the Weasleys and our other friends."

Draco bristled. "I would never have thought that you would leave a child in the hands of house elves. I was brought up by house elves. Trust me Potter; you need a person around you when you are sick. I am not leaving Teddy."

"Don't try to make it look like you care more about him-"

"That is enough." Ginny cut in firmly. "If you want to stay, you will call it truce with Harry right now." Potter smirked as Draco glared at Weasley.

"And if you know what is good for you, you will call it truce too Harry. I am not going to let the two of you destroy Teddy because you couldn't let go of your childish aggression against each other."

"Childish aggression!" Potter exclaimed flabbergasted. "Childish aggression, you say-"

"Harry Potter! You will shake hands with Draco Malfoy and call it a truce for the sake of your Godson or I would be having a word with Andromeda about banning both of you from ever meeting Teddy."

That did it for Harry and Draco, both of them moved forward and touched each other's fingers and let go really fast. Harry was reminded of Sirius and Snape, the way they had shaken hands over his hospital bed on the night Voldemort had returned. Harry had vowed to be as reckless a Godfather to Teddy as Sirius had been to him. But now he realized how much Sirius had compromised for Harry's sake. To shake hands with your nemesis for the sake of your child was one the toughest things Harry had ever done, coming second to walking to his death and losing everyone he loved to Voldemort. Harry walked out of the room. "I will get a guest room prepared for you then." Ginny said. Draco looked at her, he guessed he could be civil with her.

"That won't be necessary. I don't mind sleeping on the couch. Plus even you know he needs constant supervision for the next 4 days at least." Ginny nodded. "If you don't mind me saying it, so does Potter. I noticed he was scratching his neck."

Draco smirked as she swore. "Honestly that man! Sometimes I wonder who the child really is in this household." She muttered to herself. "I will take care of it. Thank you."

Draco nodded in acknowledgement before she left the room. "Oh! And just call Bashful or Grumpy if you need anything." She added before leaving Draco alone. Draco sighed; looking at Teddy he knew that Teddy would be asleep for a while. Giving him enough time to step out and call his elf. To his surprise Pringle didn't appear as Draco called him. That had never happened. Elf magic bound an elf to its master. Pringle should be able to break all barriers and come to him. He tried again but to no avail. Maybe Pringle could appear in a certain part of the Manor. He started walking down the steps calling Pringle's name every few steps.

"Your elf won't be able to enter the Manor." Cassiopeia Potter told Draco.

 **AN: Read and review people. Happy reading.**


	25. Chapter 25

_"_ _Your elf won't be able to enter the Manor." Cassiopeia Potter told Draco._ Draco stared at her. She was a Malfoy through and through, pale skin, platinum blond hair and stormy grey eyes. He couldn't believe his Grandfather's great aunt was married to a Potter.

"Why not? Elf magic surpasses wizard magic and wards."

"That's true young Malfoy. But Harry is a lot smarter than that. He knows that elves can smuggle people in and out of anywhere. All Potter, Black, Weasley, Longbottom and several other properties have been warded off by the elves. The only way for a strange elf to enter this Manor would be with his/her master that too if the Master has been given the rights by the Lord of the Manor to apparate directly at his gates. Since you don't have the rights, the wards will not allow your elf to enter the Manor."

"So, I would have to go home to get my things?"

"I think so."

"Very well, can you please ask someone to keep an eye on Teddy till I come back?"

"Young Teddy is precious to all of us. Don't worry, I will tell one of the elves to look after him." She smiled warmly at him.

Draco nodded before swiftly going down the steps trying to remember his way to the room he had appeared into. His thoughts moved back to Cassiopeia Potter nee' Malfoy. She looked like a Malfoy but there was something different about her. She didn't look so proud and aloof as all Malfoys were supposed to look. This is the second time Draco had seen her smile warmly at him. He knew for a fact that all Malfoys were taught to keep a cool expressionless mask on at all times, he knew she had learnt it too, but then what changed her?

Draco finally arrived in the hall he checked a couple of rooms before finding the right room and stepped into the fireplace to go home.

"Darry doesn't like it when I call him daddy. He says Moony da is my dad. I know Moony da is my dad but Darry is my daddy. Grandma says he kept trying to stop me from calling him daddy and start calling him Harry or Uncle Harry so I started calling him Darry." Draco heard Teddy say as he entered the room with his trunk shrunken in his pocket.

"Uncle Drake, you are back!" Teddy yelled happily as he jumped up on his bed. Draco caught him before Teddy could jump down from his bed. "Easy there kid. You don't want another ouchie do you?" Teddy laughed but settled down on his bed. "I made a new friend today and she is much nicer than Victoire." Teddy told Draco.

"Really and who is she?"

"Aunt Ginny's friend. She told me I could call her "Tori". She is in the bathroom, she helped clean up the itchies and then sent me to bed."

"Hey Teddy, who are you talking to? You know Harry isn't supposed to be here." Astoria Greengrass froze as she saw Draco Malfoy sitting on the bed next to Teddy Lupin. "Malfoy?"

"Greengrass." Draco greeted her formally. He hadn't seen her after their final year at Hogwarts. For the longest time Draco nursed a soft corner for the youngest Greengrass and was heartbroken when she had started dating Boot. He wasn't ready for the mad fluttering of his heart when he saw her again. He kept his expressionless mask intact.

"What are you doing here?" She asked curiously.

Typical Ravenclaw. "My mother and Teddy's grandmother are sisters. So that makes me Teddy's uncle or cousin or something." He replied with a shrug. Inside his stomach was flipping violently. "What are you doing here?" He asked in an attempt to elevate the awkward silence.

"I am a healer. Ginny mostly comes to me when she needs a healer. She asked me to take a look at Harry and Teddy. So here I am."

"So, what is your verdict?" Draco asked playfully tickling Teddy who shrieked with laughter. "Does this little monster need mittens?" He grinned at her still struggling with Teddy who was trying to get away from him.

"He is surprisingly well behaved for a four year old. I have kept some mitten on his bedside table just in case. They have a temporary gluing charm on them. His Godfather however, needed mittens with a permanent gluing charm."

Draco nodded as Teddy who was able to finally wriggle out of his grasp, jumped down the bed and performed a victory dance before running off to Greengrass and hugging her legs. She laughed and Draco's heart beat faster. He watched as she grabbed Teddy and then helped him to his bed placed a couple of board games and colouring books in front of him and then ruffled his hair affectionately.

"I have stalked up the bathroom cabinet. He is an energetic child, but he needs his rest. Give him a sleeping potion in half an hour. He really needs to sleep it out." Draco nodded. "It was nice to see you again, Malfoy." She smiled and walked away. Draco watched her retreating form.

"You look like Darry." Teddy said going back to colouring his hippogriff in a violent shade of pink.

"Huh?" Draco asked not really understanding, how he could ever look like Potter.

"He looks like that when he watches Aunt Ginny." Teddy said seriously looking into his eyes.

"Huh!" Alarm bells rang in his head. Merlin! That kid was observant. "I want to listen to a story." Teddy demanded suddenly.

"What kind of story?"

"Scary story?"

"You know you don't sleep well after that."

"No, I promise I won't be scared now. I am a big boy."

Draco snorted in response.

"Uncle Drake." Teddy whined, pouting so convincingly that Draco gave in.

"Okay, but one story." He warned. "And then you will have to take your potion and sleep. Promise?"

"Yes."

"Which scary story then?"

"The one where the man had a hairy heart."

Draco groaned. "Merlin kid! You know the story off by heart."

"But I want that story."

"Okay fine. Now you get under your sheets and get ready for bed. I will come back with your potion and then tell you the story."

"Okay." Teddy said jumping up and clearing his bed.

Draco smiled as he walked into the bathroom to the sleeping potion. Unlike popular belief, most pureblood wizards rarely used their wands or magic at home for simple day-to-day things. They liked keeping fit and moving around. As Draco opened the cabinet he heard a muffled thud from the room. "Teddy?" he called. "Teddy, are you alright?" He hastily picked up a vial and moved out of the bathroom.

"Hey, Teddy are you alright?" Draco asked as he entered the room. What he saw froze his blood. Teddy was lying on the floor unconscious and his nose was bleeding. "Teddy!" Draco ran up to Teddy, kneeling down before him. "Hey, wake up. Come on Teddy, wake up." He tried desperately to shake Teddy out of his state. "Teddy, come on. I need help. Help! HELP!" Several loud cracks echoed in the room at the same time.

"Mr. Malfoy what is it? Why is little master Teddy on the floor? Did he hurt himself?" an elf asked him.

"I don't know what's wrong with him. Someone please go get a healer and someone please go get Potter and aunt Meda and my mother." The elves disapparated with loud cracks as Draco picked Teddy up and put him on his bed and started rubbing his palms and feet. "Come on Teddy. Wake up. Please. Please, I will give anything you want. Tell you the scariest of stories. Please wake up Teddy." He muttered over and over again.

"What is- Teddy!" Potter exclaimed as he ran to the bed. "What's wrong with him? Why is he unconscious? Why is his nose bleeding? Did you call Astoria and Andromeda?"

"I don't know what happened to him. He was fine when I left him in his bed to go get his sleeping potion. I was gone for less than a minute and when I came back he was on the floor knocked out with a nosebleed. I have tried everything, his nosebleed isn't stopping. And his hands and legs are getting cold. I am just trying to keep him warm. Help me keep him warm, please."

"Draco?" Draco looked up as he heard his mother who was standing on the door with his aunt looking quite alarmed.

"Mum! I left for a minute to get his sleeping potion and he fainted and he is not waking up!" Draco told her as he frantically rubbed Teddy's hands. "He is getting so cold. Look. Its all my fault. I shouldn't have left him alone. I should have just summoned the potion to me. What have I done? _He_ was right, _he_ was right. I poison everything I touch." Draco sobbed with his head in his hands. Narcissa said nothing, just hugged her broken son.

"It's not your fault." Andromeda said looking like a ghost as she leant on the door frame. "Dragon pox is fatal for werewolves. I thought it won't affect him because he was recovering so well but I guess I was wrong." Andromeda looked close to losing her sanity.

"No." Potter said firmly. "Teddy will be fine. We will take him to St. Mungo's and they will heal him." He got up from the bed and walked up to Andromeda. "Do you hear me, Andromeda?" He asked her shaking her brittle frame. "Teddy will be fine. He has got to come back to us. Life cannot be this cruel to us. He will be fine. Let's take him to St. Mungo's."

"Harry your elf said something is wrong with Teddy. He was fine when I left ten minutes ago." Astoria said appearing next to him along with Happy.

"Thank goodness you are here Astoria. Teddy passed out quite suddenly and his body is getting colder plus his nosebleed won't stop. Andromeda thinks the dragon pox virus is not reacting very well with his werewolf genes."

"Oh!" Astoria said turning to look at Draco who was crying openly, as he frantically rubbed Teddy's tiny hands and feet. He looked so desperate it broke Astoria's heart. "Right, we need to stabilise him before running a few tests. Let's take him to St. Mungo's. Don't worry, we have a cure. It would be painful for him but there is a cure we just have to wait for him to wake up."

Several patronuses shot out of Harry's wand and soared out in different directions before the group moved to St. Mungo's. Harry refused to stay in another room and requested a bed next to Teddy. Draco paced the room as Harry sat on his bed worrying about Teddy who was in the examination room. One by one the Weasley's and Granger arrived. They were surprised to see Narcissa and Draco but did not comment. Granger and the Weasley girl even nodded in their direction before sitting down and waiting for the healers.

 **AN: You know what to do. Read and review. Lots of love.**


	26. Chapter 26

**AN: Story is mine. Potter world is JK's.**

Draco sat by Teddy's bed. The healers had kept him under observation for 48 hours, hoping that he would wake up in the stipulated time. If he did wake up in 48 hours, they said they would be able to help him heal, if not they would wait for another 24 hours but if Teddy did not wake up in the next 72 hours. Then he would slip into a coma and eventually- NO! He would NOT go there. Teddy will wake up. Teddy has to wake up.

Draco sat there, silently willing Teddy to wake up. He did not know what day or date it was. He knew that in another 30 minutes those 48 hours would be over and Teddy had to wake up before that. His eyes burned, the world, this hospital, Potter's visitors were a dull hum in his ears. Time itself was moving slowly. He knew Potter tried to talk to him at times. He knew he responded too, but he didn't understand the conversation. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He didn't bother looking up.

"Malfoy?" Granger's voice pulled him out of his stupor but not for long, conversations were over rated really. "Malfoy, maybe you should go home, get some rest. You have been sitting on this chair for two days now."

"Thanks for the concern Granger but I am not leaving Teddy again. I shouldn't have left him alone in the first place. I am not going anywhere."

"So, fine. Sleep here. Next to Teddy, but you need to get some rest. You look like crap."

"Thank you for the compliment and concern again but I cannot sleep."

"What do you mean by you cannot sleep?" She asked incredulously.

What was wrong with Granger? Didn't she understand, small talk was useless. He didn't need her concern. He needed Teddy to wake up before the next fifteen minutes were up. What?! He had been talking to Granger for fifteen minutes now someone should record this moment in history.

"Malfoy?" Granger was shaking him now. "Malfoy?"

"What's wrong with him?" He heard Weasley behind her.

"I don't know Ron. He said he couldn't sleep." Turning back to Draco she shook him again. "Malfoy, when was the last time you slept?"

He shrugged, he honestly didn't remember. "Okay, when was the last time you woke up after a goodnight's sleep?"

He knew that one. He had slept soundly because he had thought of Teddy and was excited about seeing him the next day. He had woken up feeling fresh and well rested. That felt like a lifetime ago though.

"Malfoy? Hey, Malfoy?" This time someone else was shaking him, a Weasley one of those popular funny twins. Of all the Weasleys Draco liked the twins best, he was horrified when he had seen Fred Weasley's body. "I think he has gone in a shock, should I slap him?"

"That won't be necessary Weasley. I was just thinking about the answer to Granger's question. I woke up after a good sleep on the morning of the day Teddy and Aunt Meda were supposed to visit us."

"What?!" Granger yelped. "Malfoy, you haven't slept at all in over 72 hours! You need to get some rest."

"I will sleep when Teddy wakes up. Now please leave me be."

"But-" Granger had started to say something but then she moved away with the two Weasley boys.

56 hours and Teddy had still not opened his eyes. Draco refused to abandon hope. Astoria had observed Draco sitting in the same position for 56 hours, from what Hermione Granger had told Ginny Weasley, he must have been awake for more than 85 hours. She had watched Harry Potter struggle to stay awake in his sickness to keep a watch on Teddy. Astoria was amazed at the display of such love and devotion.

"Hey" She said softly as she sat on the edge of Teddy's bed next to Draco. He didn't reply but his hand twitched slightly. She placed her hand on top of his. "He will wake up. He is so well loved. He would wake up."

For the first time he looked into her eyes and Astoria felt as if he had opened the gates of his soul for her. She could see pure torture and pain in them. He was broken and it looked like Teddy was the only think holding him together. Her heart ached to comfort him, before she knew it; she had pulled him in a fierce hug. He leant his forehead on her shoulder and sobbed. Only the tears were few and far in between, she made smoothing circles on his back, as his entire frame shook harder. Tears leaked down her eyes at his pain. They sat like that for 6 hours. Draco kept count of all the hours. Then Teddy's fingers twitched under Draco's hand. He moved away from Astoria and stared at his hand. Teddy's fingers twitched under his hand again, this time with a little more force.

"Draco? Draco? What is it?" Astoria asked shaking him slightly.

"His fingers twitched twice but- LOOK! His feet twitched!" Before she could say anything, Teddy let out a low moan. She jumped, "Do nothing, don't jostle him. Let him wake up on his own, I will go call the head healer."

Ginny who had stayed back with Harry had woken up with a jerk at Draco's shout and was already running out to the lobby to get Andromeda, Narcissa and Bill. Harry who was under a strong sleeping potion was woken up when the healers threw everyone including Draco out. Half an hour later the healers came out and informed them that Teddy had indeed woken up and had asked for them already. They were allowed to meet him for now. But she also told them that Teddy's road to recovery would be painful and they would have to toughen themselves.

Teddy was already chatting with Harry when Andromeda ran in and hugged him, kissing him all the while. Teddy pulled away making a face at being kissed. Draco stood by the door. He didn't know if he should enter or not. Among his various prayers he had desperately prayed that if Teddy wakes up, he would take the punishment and stay away from him. If it meant that Teddy gets to live, he would happily fade out of Teddy's life. He didn't know which prayer was answered. Before he could make a decision Ginny Weasley had pulled him in and pushed him towards Teddy. He looked at Potter who gave him a knowing smile and nodded encouragingly and just like that Draco knew that he might not like Potter and Potter might not like him but they would always protect the other's relationship with Teddy.

"Uncle Drake!" Teddy beamed at him, throwing his arms open and reaching out for him.

"Hey kid. You gave us a big scare." Draco said gathering the little child up in his arms.

"I saw mum and Moony da." Teddy said suddenly, "We played and chased butterflies and watched the clouds. Then mum asked me if I was ready to go home. But then you came and Darry came and Grandma came and asked me if I was ready to go home. So, I asked mum and Moony da to wait a bit. I just wanted to tell you that I was going home with mum and Moony da. But when I returned, they were gone. So, I came back home with you." He smiled showing off his dimples as the adults sat in stunned silence. They had come this close to losing Teddy. But then Harry mused, love was the most powerful magic of all times.

Teddy protested as he was kissed goodnight by his grandma and great aunt before they left for the Malfoy Manor. He protested loudly when Bill ruffled his hair and proceeded home. He climbed down his bed despite several protests and crawled on top of Harry's chest but reached a hand for Draco. He tapped Draco's hand rhythmically; Draco could feel the exhaustion of the past days catching up with him. "Uncle Drake?" Teddy said sleepily. "Hmmm…"

"Why did you say you would go away if I wake up? I don't want you to go away. Promise you won't go away?"

Draco looked up to notice that Potter was watching him. He nodded in understanding. "I promise kid. I won't go away."

"I love you, Uncle Drake. So much." Teddy said as he spread his hands wide on either side of Potter.

Draco laughed. "I love you too kid. I love you too." He said kissing Teddy's tiny palm.

"Hey, Malfoy. I think you should get some sleep now." Potter said quietly as Weasley returned after talking to the Healers about Teddy's treatment.

"We will talk in the morning. Malfoy here really needs to sleep and Harry you need to sleep too." Ginny said as both men looked at her expectantly. Both of them nodded. "You can sleep in Teddy's bed. He won't leave me tonight." Potter said.

Draco nodded; he slept off as soon as his head hit the pillow. "Who would have thought that Malfoy was capable of loving someone so much. Whoever he falls in love with would be a lucky woman." Ginny muttered as she leant in to kiss Harry and Teddy goodnight. Harry nodded looking at Malfoy again.

"You know, he reminds me of dad. I mean lets face it. Dad was a pompous jerk to the people he didn't care about but he was fiercely loyal and devoted to those he loved. Maybe Malfoy is like that. I just realized that any person who is capable of sitting for 60 plus hours on a hard chair without complain or sleep for someone they love can't be all bad." Ginny laughed before giving him a final kiss and going off to sleep on the couch.

"Hey, Ted." Teddy yawned in response.

"I think you can call me Dad if you want to."

"THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" Teddy squealed in delight but neither Malfoy nor Ginny stirred. "I LOVE YOU, DADDY!"

Harry laughed. "Yes, Yes. I love you too. Now will you please keep it down? Your uncle Drake and Aunt Ginny are sleeping." Teddy nuzzled Harry's chest, hugging him harder and soon both God father and Godson were fast asleep.

 **AN: And that's a wrap for at least a month. I would like to focus on my other fics like "The year you weren't there" and "Until the last breath." Also on some alternate universe fic where James survives and on top of that I need to figure out which one to post first a fic describing the relationship between all the Potter men and their wives or a fic describing Draco's relationship with Teddy through snippets.**

 **Well we will cross that bridge later.**

 **For now, Read and review.**

 **Happy reading.**

 **Love**

 **The Fishes.**


	27. Chapter 27

**AN: The story belongs to me, Harry however belongs to the Queen.**

 **30** **th** **August 2003**

Hermione Granger was sorely tempted for a much deserved break when Ginny Potter burst through her office doors in a complete frenzy.

"Ginny! Hello! What brings you here? Did we have a lunch scheduled for today?"

Ginny shook her head, collapsing in a chair. She looked quite pale. Hermione crossed over to Ginny's side and sat next to her reaching out to check Ginny's temperature. She looked fine but her eyes were bright and wide and she looked shocked.

"Ginny? Is everything alright?"

In response, Ginny held up a file that she was carrying. Hermione looked through the file as Ginny tried to calm herself down. The report had moving images of Ginny's abdomen, which was completely black apart from a tiny dot. The report said Ginny Potter was pregnant. Pregnant! No wonder Ginny was having a fit.

"Oh! Ginny! Congratulations!" Hermione cried, giving her a hug.

Ginny grinned, her face glowing with happiness. "Does Harry know? He would be so excited!"

Ginny paled again. "No one knows, Hermione. I suffered from morning sickness before he left for the mission but we thought it was stomach flu and he insisted that I go to the healer anyhow. I just got to know myself and I came to you. Merlin! This is so awkward. How will I tell Mum, Dad or the rest of my brothers or James, Lily, Remus, Dora and Sirius about it? It's one thing that they know Harry and I have sex. But this is like displaying the proof for crying out loud. I- I- I- I don't know how to tell this to anyone, especially Harry. I mean I know he would be ecstatic but how do I say it? Should I just up and tell him or should I do something special?"

Hermione laughed, she couldn't believe that the ever confident, borderline brash Ginny was having a crisis with announcing her pregnancy. "Maybe you should tell him the way you told me and be a little more dramatic about it."

Ginny glared at Hermione, this pushed Hermione off the edge and she howled with laughter, after a while both Ginny and Hermione were laughing like idiots. If anyone saw or heard anything, they wisely chose to ignore the two war heroines and one of the most powerful witches in England.

After they had caught their breath, Hermione said, "I don't care how you tell him. Just tell him as soon as he returns from his mission. Okay?" Ginny nodded before giving Hermione a fierce hug. Hermione sighed happily and went back to work.

 **3** **rd** **September 2003**

Ginny woke up abruptly in the middle of the night when she felt hand snake on her waist, normally she would have pulled Teddy in a hug and slept on but Teddy was with Andromeda at her place. Ginny's hand instinctively shot to her wand kept under the pillow. "Constant Vigilance, Mrs. Potter? I am impressed." Harry whispered in her ear, nibbling it. Ginny laughed, turning to face Harry. She kissed him hungrily. "Boy, I should go away more often, if I get to come back to this." Harry said with a laugh.

Ginny smacked his chest before giving him a good look, he needed a shave and a haircut but apart from that he looked alright. Ginny kissed the spot above his heart and snuggled into him. "I missed you." She whispered. "I missed you too." He said holding her close.

"Ginny?" Harry asked.

"Hmmm?"

"Did you check with the healer about your stomach flu thing? What did he say?"

"Nothing to worry about. I am fine." Ginny squeaked.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Ginny said, before turning away from Harry.

"What are you hiding?" Harry asked, Ginny could hear the frown in his voice.

"Nothing." She said in a high pitched voice.

"Ginny?" Harry asked again.

"Its nothing Harry, go to sleep."

"Gin?" Harry asked shaking her. "Ginny, please." Harry whispered his voice tense.

Ginny couldn't understand why Harry was getting so worried about something so small. But then it hit Ginny like a bludger, the realization that secrets generally meant bad news for Harry that is why he had tensed up, she turned back immediately and took Harry's face in her hands. "Harry." She said urgently, "It really is nothing to worry about. Look at me, trust me it is nothing to worry about."

"Then why won't you tell me about it?"

"Because I don't how to say it." Ginny replied biting her lip.

Harry's brows furrowed, "If it is nothing to worry about, then why is it so difficult to talk about it?"

"What if it is a good thing?"

"Ginny, how would vomiting be a good thing?" Harry asked sitting up, looking at her incredulously.

Ginny sat up with him. "Because it could mean happy things." Ginny said, gently taking his hands and placing it on her stomach.

Harry looked at her perplexed, "Gin, what do you mean-" Harry's eyes bugged out.

"You mean-" Harry stared at her.

"Yes. We are going to have a baby. I am pregnant."

"Really? How?"

"Honestly, Harry! Do you want me to describe all our escapades to you?"

Harry blushed. "You are pregnant?" He asked looking awed.

Ginny nodded.

Harry grinned before pulling her in a bone crushing hug, before he knew it both Ginny and him were laughing and kissing each other madly.

"I love you Ginny Potter. I love you so much!"

Ginny laughed before kissing him deeply.

 **Happy Reading.**

 **Love,**

 **The Fishes**


	28. Chapter 28

**27** **th** **March 2004**

Ginny Weasley put a loving hand on her now bloated stomach, the kicking stopped immediately. She smiled, she walked slowly, and she could hear her entire family as she neared the Quidditch pitch at the Manor. She saw Harry streak above and her heart burned with momentary jealousy, she missed being up in the air. She missed flying, she missed Quidditch; she couldn't believe that she would have to wait till September to be able to join her team back.

Slowly she made her way to the stands, Teddy, Victoire, Molly, Dominique and Lucy were busy rooting for their teams. Fleur was sitting with little Louise who was around three months old and asleep. Fleur smiled at Ginny, Angelina who till now was chatting with Fleur looked up and moved to make room for Ginny. Ginny winced as she sat; Angelina smiled "I can't wait for these two to be out of me. And I don't really want to think the menace that the three of them would be." Ginny laughed. Audrey was talking to Andromeda and her mother about some new recipe that she had learnt and Hermione was sitting with her father telling him about how a computer worked, to say that Arthur was fascinated would be an understatement.

Ginny Potter nee Weasley was content, this was her happy moment. This was what she had fought for so many years ago but her happy moment didn't last long. She felt an unbearable pain in her stomach, she gasped, her hand flying to her stomach, trying to calm her child down.

Angelina and Fleur noticed her movements, "What is it?" Angelina asked laying a caring hand on Ginny's arm. Ginny shook her head and smiled, "Nothing, the baby is a little excited today." Fleur snorted, years of living with the Weasleys had taught her a thing or two. "Too excited." She said with a huge grin, "Look down Ginny, your water just broke the baby is ready to come."

The world stopped spinning for Ginny Potter, this can't be happening, the baby can't be coming now, not in the middle of a Potter- Weasley Quidditch match. Ginny thought she would faint, Angelina caught Ginny, "Ginny, you need to calm down." She whispered urgently. "It's okay; you are safe we are all here. Just calm down and we will take to St. Mungo's." Ginny nodded, her mind not really comprehending anything.

"STOP!" Molly Weasley's voice boomed from the stands, Ginny jumped and she was not the only one, the children had all scampered to their respective mothers, Teddy clung to Ginny; everyone else was frozen in air.

"WE HAVE TO GET GINNY TO MUNGO'S. THE BABY IS COMING."

Teddy looked up at Ginny fear evident in his eyes, Ginny knew that there was mad activity going around her but she looked at Teddy and smiled confidently but before she could do anything, she was put on a magical stretcher conjured by Hermione. Harry dismounted right next to her panicking. Andromeda had already taken Teddy and was calming him down but Ginny felt someone needed to calm Harry down first.

"You don't worry, Gin. We will get you to the hospital. The baby is coming, we are having a baby! Oh my God!"

Before she knew it they had all apparated to Mungo's, there was mad activity in the hospital too and all Ginny could feel was pain. She was rushed into the maternity ward, the healer had tried to kick Harry out but she had clung to him. The healer gave up, and here they were 4 hours later, holding hands as Ginny's body felt like someone was ripping it apart from the inside. She screamed again, "Almost there Mrs. Potter, one good push and the baby will be out." She screamed as she tried to push the baby out, Harry watched her with horror written on his face and then they heard the protests from a healthy set of lungs.

Harry tore his eyes away from Ginny's tired face to look at his child. "Congratulations, Mr. Potter! It's a boy. Would like to cut the umbilical cord?" The healer asked. Harry shook his head, his hand clutching Ginny's hand, he didn't trust himself with this, he didn't want to cause Ginny anymore pain. He looked at Ginny again, she was tired and almost sleepy but she smiled at him, she looked radiant with her hair sticking on her sweaty forehead.

"Ginny," Harry said, moving closer to her. "I love you and thank you." She smiled at him and dozed off; a healer pulled the sleeve of his robe. Harry turned; his hand still clutching Ginny's and looked at the bundle in the healer's arms. "Would you like to hold him Mr. Potter?"

Harry looked at his hand wrapped around Ginny's, and then at the healer who gave him an encouraging smile. Harry let go off Ginny's hand and folded his hands to make space for the baby, "Just support his neck here." The healer instructed gently. Harry looked down at his now sleepy son, with a mop of auburn hair, the baby yawned widely before sucking his entire fist, his eyes already closed.

Harry walked out to the waiting lounge; the entire Weasley clan including the children were waiting for him. Teddy, Victoire, Dominique and Molly were having a spirited discussion while Lucy and Louise were sleeping their mother's arms. The rest of the Weasleys and Andromeda were sitting around each other chatting amicably. However, they stopped when Harry walked in, he looked dazed. "It's a boy." He said dazedly, and walked over to where Teddy was sitting. He sat on the bench behind Teddy; Teddy didn't need telling twice, he got out of the chair and clambered on to the bench, sitting on his knees next to Harry, peering curiously at the baby. "So, big guy." Harry said quietly, "Say hello to your little brother." Teddy peered in curiously and smiled at the baby. "Dad?" he asked excitedly, "Does this mean I get to do all big brother things with him?"

Harry laughed, "Yes, you will have to look after him and-"

"And teach him how to fly, and play Quidditch and teach him about girls." Teddy added.

"Girls?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I heard Uncle Ron say once, that his elder brothers never taught him about girls; that's why he was such a whoozy in school."

"Thanks Teddy!" Ron said blushing deeply.

"Really, Ron!" George chirped, "You would have been a whoozy despite our efforts. We gave you the bible and you still messed up."

"I wish I could care more about this bible that you are talking about." Mrs. Weasley said after giving them meaningful looks. "But I can't care less. Now move over and let me meet my grandson. Harry how is Ginny though?"

"She is recovering beautifully, Molly. They have just moved her to the room; we would be able to go meet her in a few minutes."

"Oh! I can't believe this, my baby girl, gave birth to her baby now." She whispered as she took the baby in her arms.

"You know we have to give him a name." Ginny said, as Harry shut the door behind Mr. and Mrs. Weasley; the last visitors to leave. Harry looked around, Teddy was still peering in the baby's cradle making funny faces at him and Andromeda was reading a magazine.

"I already told you, Gin. You gave birth to him, you get to name him. I only want to name our daughter Lily."

"Hey dad!" Teddy called from the cradle, "We can call him Robin or Eagle. And then I can be Batman and he could be Robin."

Harry shook his head. Teddy was advanced for his age and was already reading muggle comic books and he was obsessed with Batman. Andromeda and Ginny laughed.

"Well, Teddy." Ginny said, "Do you know that it's Uncle Prongs' birthday today?"

Teddy nodded, "I wished him this morning, like you and Gran asked me to."

Ginny smiled, "And is your Uncle Prongs a superhero too? Like Batman?"

Teddy nodded excitedly, "Yep, and Uncle Padfoot and Auntie Lily and Dora Mum and Moony Da and you and dad and everyone else too."

"So, how about we name him after two heroes? Like you?"

Teddy gave her a quizzical look as Harry watched this exchange with a sense of mad love for Ginny burning through his body. She had not only given him his son, but she was naming the son after his father.

"Teddy, you have been named after your grand dad and Moony da right?"

Teddy nodded.

"So, let's name him after your Uncle Prongs and Uncle Padfoot."

Harry was rooted to his spot, he wanted to rush over and kiss Ginny. He wanted to cry, he wanted to thank Ginny over and over again. "Is James Sirius Potter a good name?"

Teddy smiled. He immediately turned to the baby and asked him "Hey, what do you think? Is James Sirius Potter a good name for you?" The baby gurgled, shoving his foot in his mouth.

Teddy turned back and beamed at everyone, "James says, he likes it."

Harry was still staring at Ginny who was watching Teddy and James. Andromeda tactfully reminded Teddy that they need to go home to sleep. Teddy pouted but relented, he walked and gave a quick kiss and hug to Ginny before trailing behind Andromeda.

"You know you could say something Harry." Ginny said looking at him.

Harry did not have enough words; he crossed the room and kissed Ginny. "Thank you." He whispered again and again, in between kisses. Ginny laughed, her moment of perfect happiness was back again.

 **So, yey! James is here. I would really appreciate it if I get some reviews on this. But anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **Happy Reading.**

 **Much love**

 **The Fishes**


	29. Chapter 29

**5** **th** **December 2004**

It was the loud crash that made Harry poke his head out of the study and made him go check into the playroom. James was sitting on the carpet giggling away, Teddy was sprawled on the floor in front of him, near a broken vase, Teddy sat up and checked himself before turning to James. "Are you hurt Jamie?" But James just giggled. "Good so no one is hurt. We will tell everyone that it was an accident and don't you ever try to push a stool again, you could have been hurt." Teddy reprimanded James lightly, who just continued giggling stopping long enough to say, "Yeth, Taee."

Ginny brushed past Harry with a smirk, "Oh no!" She said dramatically as she placed her hands on her hips, "Who did this?" Teddy smirked at Ginny as James waddled up to Teddy and pulled his hair screaming, "TAEEE, NO!" as if he was reprimanding his elder brother for causing mischief.

"Ow, Jamie!" Teddy complained, trying to pry James' fingers from his hair, James plopped down on the carpet giggling as Ginny, Harry and Teddy burst out laughing. It had become James' favourite past time to cause mischief and blame Teddy for it, initially Harry and Ginny had a hard time believing Teddy but then they caught James at it once.

Harry picked Teddy up and gave him a once over, "You alright, Bear?" Harry asked.

"Yup." Teddy said cheerfully.

"Good, don't go hurting yourself in order to save James."

Teddy grinned.

"Hey Ted. Thank you for being such a good big brother to James." Harry said softly as Ginny picked up James who immediately started pulling her hair. Teddy laughed, gave Harry a quick kiss and hug before running after Ginny making funny faces at James who kept giggling. Harry watched Teddy snuggle next to Ginny as she sat with James on her knees and started reading a story to them. His thoughts taking him back to the day when they informed Teddy about a potential new sibling.

 _Once the Euphoria of Ginny's pregnancy ebbed both Harry and Ginny were worried about Teddy. They did not want him to feel that he would be less loved because of a new baby and they definitely did not know how to break this news to Teddy. Andromeda had offered to talk to Teddy but Harry knew that Teddy would prefer to hear it from Ginny and him. Molly was at a loss for preparing a child for a sibling because Bill was only two when Charlie was born and the rest just followed. His great grandmother had three children but she claimed that his grandfather had demanded for siblings thus, even they didn't know much about telling a child that they may have a sibling on the way. Bill and Fleur had Dominique when Victoire was two and Percy and Audrey had the same age difference between their daughters._

 _Harry paced the room, his parents, grandparents, Sirius, Remus and Dora all had assured him that he would do fine and that Teddy was a wonderful kid he would not create much fuss over it. There was a knock on the door, little Teddy walked in wearing his favourite black t-shirt, blue jeans and sporting turquoise hair with pink roots._

 _"_ _Grandma said mum and you wanted to talk to me."_

 _Harry nodded, motioning for Teddy to take a seat before turning to look at the door waiting for Ginny. The awkward silence between them stretched on and Teddy couldn't take the tension anymore._

 _"_ _Look," Teddy said desperately. "If this is about the blown up tree house at the Burrow, I swear I told Vic, Dom and Molly that the firecracker in the tree house would be a bad idea, but they just wouldn't listen. Rookies, the lot of them, if they wanted to scare someone all they had to do was pick up one of those invisibility cloaks, hide under it and then throw paintballs at unsuspecting people mostly Uncles George and Ron. A firecracker in the tree house was stupid and I played no part in it." Teddy finished folding his hands on his chest._

 _"_ _What firecracker in the tree house are we talking about?" Harry asked._

 _"_ _So, this isn't about that?"_

 _Harry shook his head eyeing Teddy curiously._

 _"_ _Oh, nothing. It wasn't something serious and at least no one got hurt." Teddy said with a shrug and a smile which made him look like an innocent angel but Harry was not fooled, he knew Teddy was a lot like his father, a prankster at heart but he never tried to get anyone in danger. Harry narrowed his eyes, folding his arms across his chest. Teddy sighed looking defeated._

 _"_ _Vic had this idea that a firecracker dragon from the tree house at the burrow would surprise and scare everyone which would mean pranking Uncle George and Uncle Ron. Dom and Molly agreed to the idea too, I told them it won't work but they didn't listen. If only they spent as much time at the shop as I did, they would have known it wouldn't have worked. Anyway, so they planted the firecracker in the tree house and the tree house sort of blew up. Well, I told them I had no part to play in it, but no one seems to believe me apart from Uncle George and Uncle Ron. I wasn't punished but Gran said she would tell you about it, since I am the eldest I am supposed to keep the younger ones in check. It's not fair, I didn't ask for it and the younger ones are stupid."_

 _"_ _Tough luck, pup." Sirius piped up from the portrait. Teddy grinned and winked at him before schooling his expression to look guilty and sorry. Harry rolled his eyes. He knew Teddy would only feel sorry if someone was hurt or injured because of his pranks. Teddy peeked at Harry, Harry couldn't help but crack a smile, Teddy grinned before scrambling out of his seat to hug Harry who lifted him up. "You little bugger! You always get out of trouble with me, but don't let your mum hear about this incident okay?" Teddy nodded._

 _"_ _Edward Remus Lupin!" Ginny thundered as soon as she entered the study. "You blew up the tree house?"_

 _Both Teddy and Harry flinched before exchanging a quick glance. "You knew?" Ginny asked Harry, hands on her hips._

 _"_ _I just got to know about it." Harry said raising his hands in surrender. "And Teddy didn't do anything. He tried to stop Victoire, Dominique and Molly but they did not listen to him. Ask Ron he would tell you the same."_

 _Ginny turned to look at Teddy, "Why didn't you tell Grandma Molly or someone else about their plan, then?"_

 _Teddy stared at her horrified, "And break their trust? I would never do such a thing to a friend Uncle James, Uncle Sirius and Moony Da would kill me!" Teddy yelped, "It is wrong to talk about someone else's secrets and they asked me keep it a secret."_

 _Ginny's expression softened, but before she could say anything Remus interjected, "That is an admirable thought Teddy. But sometimes, when you know that a secret could hurt a lot of people it is okay to tell someone about it. In fact under such circumstances you should talk to someone. You understand that?" Teddy nodded._

 _He walked over to Ginny and hugged her, "I am sorry mum. I will tell someone the next time they hatch a dangerous prank plan." Ginny nodded and kissed Teddy's forehead, no one could ever stay mad at Teddy for long, it was a miracle that the kid wasn't spoiled._

 _Harry cleared his throat nervously, "Now that we have that cleared, Teddy could you please take a seat, we need to talk to you about something." Teddy nodded and went back to his seat. Ginny took a seat next to him at Harry knelt in front of him._

 _"_ _Now, Teddy. We want you to know that we love you a lot and nothing is going to change that. Okay?" Teddy nodded, looking at Harry cautiously._

 _"_ _Well, you know, we were thinking, would you like a sibling? A little brother or a sister?"_

 _Teddy turned to look at Ginny, "Are you going to have a baby like Aunt Fleur? But you don't look fat." Teddy stated giving Ginny a once over. Ginny smiled, "That's because the baby is really small right now, once the baby grows up, I would become fat."_

 _Teddy nodded concentrating hard on her stomach. "How did it even get in their? Did you eat the baby? Did my mum eat me?" He asked looking quite alarmed._

 _"_ _No. No Teddy; Ginny or your mum did not eat any babies." Harry said, looking uncomfortably at Ginny while the portraits snickered in the background._

 _"_ _That's a relief. So, how did the baby get in there? I have always wondered but I didn't know how to ask Uncle Bill or Percy about it. How do you know you are going to have a baby?"_

 _"_ _Well, Teddy." Ginny started as the portraits guffawed behind her, "When two people love each other a lot, some kind of magic happens and they get a baby because they love each other a lot." Ginny finished lamely._

 _"_ _So, how do muggles get babies? They can't do magic."_

 _"_ _This is a very special kind of magic, it works for muggles too." Harry added uncomfortably._

 _"_ _Okay." Teddy nodded trying to understand this complicated bit of magic. "So, will this baby also have Moony da and Dora mum to love him like you love me? Will I have to share grandma and Great Aunt Cissy and Uncle Draco and Aunt Tori with him too?"_

 _"_ _No, Teddy. You won't have to share your Moony da, Dora mum or grandma or anyone else with this baby, you will only have to share your mum and I." Harry said._

 _"_ _Why not? It's not fair!" Teddy complained. "This baby is my little brother or sister; it should have as many people to love it. It would have less people to love it now."_

 _Harry and Ginny exchanged a glance quite taken aback by Teddy's outburst. "But Teddy," Ginny continues gently. "The baby would have something you don't, an elder brother. And I am sure the others would love the baby just as much."_

 _"_ _So, I will have to be an older brother?"_

 _"_ _I guess, Teddy bear." Harry said shrugging slightly._

 _Teddy nodded. "So, I get to teach him stuff? Like flying?"_

 _Harry nodded as Ginny smiled fondly. "Great!" Teddy said excitedly. "Now I will show Victoire how to be a good elder brother. Say mum can the baby hear me?"_

 _"_ _I don't know." Ginny said with a smile. "Do you want to say something to it?"_

 _Teddy nodded, scrambling down and poked Ginny's stomach softly before placing his hand on it. "Okay, now that I have your attention, I hope you are a boy. There are only girls out here, not that they are not great. Vic and Dom are great, we play Quidditch and Molly likes to pretend that she knows how to read and we are not really sure about how cool Lucy is, she just likes to destroy things, but I would still like a little brother. But even if you are a girl, it's okay. I don't mind a little sister, I guess if you are anything like Dom, you would be great. And I love you and I would be the best big brother you ever had."_

"Dad? Hey, Dad?" Harry was brought out of his reverie with Teddy waving his hand in front of him.

"Yes, Teddy?"

"Do you think James is old enough for a broom?"

"He would be in a few months." Harry said looking at James who was clinging on Teddy's pants and smiling toothily at him. Teddy turned to James, "Did you hear that, Jamie? You will be able to fly soon, it would be great!"

"Yeth! Taeeeeee…." James exclaimed before giggling, losing his balance and falling on the carpet with a plop. Teddy, Harry and Ginny laughed with James. This was Harry's bliss.

 **Hello! So yet another chapter. Time for a huge leap. Next up would be Teddy leaving for Hogwarts, which would probably bring us closer to the end of this fic, 2 to 3 more chapters. But spinoffs would come from here. I am already working on a Draco- Astoria story, next up would be moments between Draco and Teddy, as well as a next gen fic on the love and life of the Weasley, Potter, Lupin, Zabini, Malfoy, Nott, Longbottom children.**

 **For now please check out my two new fic: "Lilies on your grave." An alternate universe fic where James survives and Sirius, Lupin and James try to bring Harry up together.**

 **"To love a Malfoy"- A Draco- Astoria fanfic.**

 **Please do read and review. I would love to hear from you. Happy Reading.**

 **The fishes.**


	30. Chapter 30

**1** **st** **September 2009**

September came a bit too early for Harry Potter, 11 years too early. He wasn't ready to let go of Teddy yet. Ginny observed as they entered the platform and approached the army of relatives present to drop Teddy off that Draco, Harry and Andromeda had the same expression. Worry and apprehension was painted on their face and it looked like the three of them had not slept at all. Astoria smiled as she watched Ginny approach; she was holding her daughter in her arms who looked like a miniature version of Narcissa right down to the stormy grey eyes. Ginny and Astoria had remained friends over the years, though their husbands chose to ignore each other. They were determined to not let that animosity go down to their children but unluckily; their husbands had successfully foiled all their plans of play dates.

Ginny and Astoria thanked their stars that at least Teddy was a joining factor between the two families.

"You took forever." Teddy accused, disengaging himself from Victoire and what looked like a mini Draco as he walked over to Harry and Ginny. James gave a gleeful shout and jumped straight into Teddy's arms, followed by Albus who latched himself on Teddy's right leg as Scorpius had latched himself on Teddy's left while Victoire made disgusted sounds in the background and Lily squirmed to go to Teddy.

Teddy laughed; he had inherited his mother's light heartedness and his father's kindness. Her metamorphing abilities and his physical strength but he had a grace of his own. He was graceful when he moved, almost like a trapeze artists, with perfect balance.

"Come on you guys, I will be home for Christmas. I promise." He said gently as he put James down and then tried to free himself from Albus and Scorpius who refused to budge. He looked up pleadingly at both Harry and Draco who wore similar expressions of torn approval. As soon as Harry and Draco had whisked away Albus and Scorpius, Teddy made his way to Ginny and Astoria, giving both women tight hugs.

"I will miss you mum. And you too Aunt Tori. Now come on, let me hold those two before I go." As he opened his arms for Lily and Carina. He staggered a little as both girls jumped into his arms. "Whoa! I didn't realize you guys are so grown up now." Lily giggled. "I am a big gurrrrl now." She said with a laugh. Carina stared at Lily, "Teddy, she is pwetty." She said, reaching out to touch Lily's hair as Teddy knelt down to gently put them down.

"Thanks. You are pwetty too."

"I like your hair. It's wed!"

Lily giggled. "Do you like stowies?"

"Yup. I like babbity rabbity."

"My mum is my stepmum. She makes me work all day in the kitchens and doesn't even give me food and she is not really nice too. Is your mum your stepmum too?" Lily said suddenly.

"What is a stepmum?"

"Oh, you know like my mum. She yells at me and puts me in a corner and doesn't give me cookies at all." Lily said with a pout.

"You can come to my place. We have lots of cookies. But mum doesn't let us have any cookies before dinner."

"Yeah my mum too." Lily said with a dramatic sigh. "Hey! Your mum is a stepmum too, then."

Astoria exchanged a look with Ginny, as Teddy slinked off to say goodbye to everyone else and the girls continued their conversation.

"She has an active imagination." Ginny said, "We read Cinderella the other day and now she thinks she is Cinderella."

"What is Cinderella?" Astoria asked curiously.

"Muggle fairytale."

"You should send me such books. I think it would be healthy for the kids to read some other story books."

"Sure."

Astoria and Ginny lapsed into momentary silence as they watched Teddy kneel down in front of James, Albus and Scorpius, trying to cheer them up.

"Your kids have taken it pretty well." Astoria commented. "Scorpius threw a fit when he found out that Teddy would be going away."

"Don't remind me." Ginny groaned, "They are acting civilized now, but James almost set Teddy's letter on fire and though Albus looks like the calm one, he kept sneaking Teddy's stuff out and hiding them all over."

"And Lily?"

"She is too young to really understand what's going on, but even she started crying about it because Al and James were sad. What about Carina?"

"Oh she adores Teddy. But unlike Scorpius who threatened to hex Teddy, she just hugged him and made him promise that he would write and come meet her soon."

"He will be fine, won't he?" Ginny asked, giving in to the panic and worry that was gnawing at her.

"He is so well loved, why wouldn't he be fine? Also, Neville and Professor McGonagall would take care of him." Astoria replied, understanding Ginny's need for some reassurance.

"Hey, Uncle Draco. You okay?" Teddy asked Draco as he came to stand next to him on the platform.

Draco put an arm around Teddy and squeezed his shoulder before nodding. Teddy nodded thoughtfully too, noticing the looks of mixed awe and disgust on people's faces as they crossed the Malfoys. Teddy huffed angrily.

"Who rained on your parade, Teddy?" Draco asked lightly.

"The people! They are so- it must be so irritating living around such judgmental folks. Why can't they give you guys a break?!"

"Oooh! Judgmental, you learned a new word Ted." Draco joked.

"It's not funny Uncle Draco. I don't like the way they treat you. It has been 11 years, what happened to building a new happy world for _everyone?"_

"Don't let that get to you Ted. You will hear a lot worse. That's the way it is, I have accepted it. I am just glad that you don't hate me."

Teddy gave Draco a frustrated look.

"Aww.. come on!" Draco said, pulling Teddy in a hug and mussing up his hair.

Teddy gave in and hugged his uncle back. "Did you really think I would hate you?" Teddy muttered into Draco's chest.

Draco smiled, "I was afraid that you would."

"Why?"

"Because we were the people who killed your parents and grandfather."

"No, you didn't kill my parents. Bellatrix Lestrange and Antonin Dolohov killed them and they are all dead and we don't really know who killed Granddad but it sure wasn't you or Great Aunt Cissy." Teddy explained, his nose flaring. "All the bad things that happened to me weren't your fault. You were trying to save your parents."

"Who told you that?"

"Dad did. He said you never were an evil person; you were just forced into becoming one. It wasn't your fault." Teddy said with a shrug. "People with Unicorn hair in their wands aren't all that scary you know." He added with a smirk. "They have the disposition of a Huffelpuff."

"You watch it there young man." Draco said with a mock glare, "I still know a few good hexes, that will make you toenails curl." He added before grinning at Teddy and pulling the little trouble maker to him. "I will miss you, Ted." Draco said with a final hug. "Now go give hell to McGonagall." Teddy laughed before giving a quick hug to Draco with a hurried "I will miss you too."

Draco watched Teddy walk to his Godfather, his chest constricting with the pain of loss before Teddy stopped midway and rushed back to him.

"I love you, Uncle Draco. Take care." Teddy said with a final hug before walking off to Harry.

"I love you too kid." Draco whispered, with a smile as the tips of Teddy's turquoise hair turned platinum blonde.

"Teddy bear." Harry said, looking into space. "You ready to go?"

Teddy nodded glumly.

Harry nudged Teddy's shoulder. "What's up? What's worrying you?"

"What if I am not good enough at being a wizard? What if the sorting hat can't really decide on my house? What if I really am a squib?"

"Teddy. I know you are nervous and it is okay to be nervous but remember we bought you a 12 and a quarter inches, pear wood wand with Unicorn hair. Didn't we?"

Teddy nodded.

"Well, there you are. The wand wouldn't choose you if you were a squib now, would it? And even if you were a squib, it wouldn't have made a difference to us. Being a squib isn't a bad thing."

Teddy nodded.

"But what if I am not good enough for any of the houses? I mean granddad was a Ravenclaw, gran was a Slytherin, then grandpa was a Gryffindor, Moony da was a Gryffindor and Mum was a Hufflepuff. What if I am none?"

"The hat doesn't look at your talents Teddy, but at what you value and hold dear. All of us have all the qualities required to be in any of the houses. It is what we value the most that sets us apart."

"How do you know that?"

"A wise man once taught me, that what we choose to value defines us."

"So, you would be okay with no matter what house I guess."

Harry nodded. "Although your Uncle Ron would disown you, if you get Slytherin and Uncle Draco would disown you if you get Gryffindor or Hufflepuff." He added with a mischievous.

"That's no pressure at all." Teddy commented with a laugh before hugging Harry.

"I will miss you dad. A lot."

"I will miss you too, bear."

Teddy ran back to hug everyone a last goodbye before hopping on the train. The children idolized Teddy and had started crying already and it looked like Andromeda couldn't stop either, she cried on Narcissa's shoulders. But what touched the crowd waving goodbye to a well loved Teddy Lupin were moist eyes belonging to Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy.

 **AN: Another chapter done. I planned on showing a bit of Teddy's childhood and relationships with the Potter- Weasley- Malfoy children but this fic has got such a lukewarm response, I think it would be better to finish it in a couple of chapters and write separate spin offs for all the things I thought I would add to it.**

 **Anyway, Happy Reading. Please do read and review.**

 **Much love,**

 **The fishes**


	31. Chapter 31

**Okay a few things you should know before you read this chapter.**

 **While Harry was in touch with Dudley and his wife and children, he never maintained any relationship with his aunt and uncle and thus, they did not know about Harry or his children, neither did his children know about them. While the senior Dursleys knew that Dudley met Harry regularly, they never discussed the meetings with each other. They did not want to do anything with him after that fateful new year party.**

 **10** **th** **September 2010**

Little Lily Potter crept into her parent's room, her brother's at her heels. She stopped at the door to peek in and make sure that only their father was in bed, her brothers bumped into her, propelling her into the room. She turned around to with her hands on her hips to glare at her brothers, looking uncannily like their mother. The two boys, stilled looking abashed. Lily turned back to make sure that their father was still sleeping.

Harry on the other hand had been up for a while now but was feeling too lazy to get out of bed. He opened his eyes only a fraction, he could discern the hazy figures of his three children. He shut his eyes, pretending to sleep, fighting the smile creeping on his face. Lily climbed the bed and snuggled on his chest. Harry put an arm around her and kissed her hair. "Goodmorning, Lilypad."

"Goodmorning Daddy." Lily said sweetly snuggling some more. Harry knew his sons were hiding behind the door.

"Daddy? Are you on a holiday today?"

"Yes, honey. I am, I got back from a mission yesterday. We can go flying today, on my broom if you want to."

Harry knew Lily had brightened up. She up straight and laughed. "Thank you Daddy."

There was a very discreet and miserable attempt at imitating an owl screech. Lily flashed an irritated look towards the door but sobered up immediately. Harry had pulled his glasses on by then and watched her amusedly as she smiled sweetly at him.

"That's okay Daddy but can we please go to the zoo today? All of us?"

"But then James and Al would miss school, won't they?"

Lily nodded, biting her thumbnail and thinking hard. "But it will be okay if they miss one day of school, won't it Daddy? I really want all of us to go to the zoo today, Please Daddy. Please, please, please." She said with big eyes and pout.

Harry laughed, he could never really say no when one of his children did that. "Okay, We will go to the Zoo today. And the two of you could come out, I know you are hiding there."

Al and James came running in and jumped on the bed, hooting and hugging him. Soon Harry was having a pillow and tickle fight with his children, several minutes later, the four collapsed on the bed laughing. "Your mother would kill me for agreeing to this." Harry said.

The children giggled. "Kill you for what?" Ginny asked joining them in bed, pulling Al to her to tickle him.

"We are going to the zoo today!" Lily exclaimed.

Ginny looked at Lily and smiled. "That's great. But if you want to go to the zoo, you must get ready and come down for breakfast in half an hour. Okay? Now, run."

The three children clambered out of bed, running across the corridor to their respective rooms. James had taken Sirius' previous room, he had also taken a liking to yellow, which was Sirius' favourite colour. Albus had chosen his grandfather's room, with the same blue-green walls. And Lily had chosen Percy's old room, which co-incidentally was Charlus Potter's old room with soft pearl pink walls. Harry watched his children leave before turning to look at Ginny who was also looking at the children.

"You really are okay with us going to the zoo today?"

Ginny smiled, "Yes, I think it is a great idea."

"Even if it means that James and Al would be missing school?"

"Yeah, it is quite okay to miss school every once in a while."

"Gin, is everything okay?"

"Yes, why wouldn't they be?"

"Well, for one, you are alright with the kids missing their school and going to the zoo instead. Two, you are not mad at me for agreeing to it and three, you think it is a good idea."

Ginny laughed. "Have I become such a strict mother?"

"No, you are pretty cool as a mother but I thought, you would want them to go to school."

"Oh! I do want them to go to school but its okay for today. What now with Victoire at Hogwarts too, I realized that the kids are growing up a bit too fast. Look at Teddy, I had such a hard time accepting that Teddy has changed so much in a year. I think now it would be good for us to spend some more time together."

"Oh Gin! It was hard for me too. Were we like this as children too? Did we change so much after our stay at Hogwarts?"

"I think so Harry, Mum was especially upset with Bill. But by the time Ron and I went to Hogwarts, she had sort of accepted it." She said sighing wistfully.

"Come here." Harry said, pulling her to his side. "Don't worry, love. Our kids would be fine." He said kissing her forehead.

"Yeah." Ginny sighed. Snuggling into Harry's side, life had been good so far for them. Harry avoided thinking about the time when he really didn't see a future for himself but he was grateful for each day since that fateful day 12 years ago. His life was perfect the way it was.

"Hey Gin."

"Hmm…"

"If you really look at it, I think we are doing great."

She smiled. "I guess we are. Now, I think we should get ready too."

"Want to join in and help me get ready, Mrs. Potter?" Ginny laughed, as she shoved Harry away before climbing out of the bed and walking towards the closet. Harry smirked before getting out of bed and following after her.

Harry held Lily's hand as James and Al walked with Ginny. James was enthusiastic about all animals. Al was not really fond of reptiles but he found snakes fascinating only from a safe distance and Lily declared that snakes and baby animals are the best things that could be. A white tigress had given birth to 4 cubs and it had created quite a stir, the zoo was full of people even when it was a weekday.

"Harry!" Harry turned, Ginny who had not heard anything kept walking ahead.

"Caroline? Hello." Harry asked Caroline Dursley, Dudley Dursley's wife. It had been quite a shock to the Dursleys when Dudley and Caroline's children Megan (Albus' age) and Jason (Lily's age) had shown magical abilities.

"Hi, Aunt Caroline. How are you?" Lily asked.

Caroline grinned at Lily, "I am fine, thank you and how are you, sweetheart?"

"I am fine too. Thank you." Lily chirped.

"Hello Harry, How are you?"

"I am good. I didn't really expect to see you here on a weekday though." Harry said with a lopsided grin.

"I am a vet, remember? I came in here to check on the cubs. Not even a week old and the zoo is milking them for money. I am just their care taker for now." Harry nodded.

"Would you like to join us? I am sure Ginny would like to meet you."

"I would love to meet Ginny too. But I brought Petunia with me and I need to go find her."

"Aunt Petunia is here? How is she doing? I am sorry I wasn't able to make it to the funeral, I was out of the country on a mission and Ginny, well lets just say she doesn't understand why I would want to attend uncle Vernon's funeral in the first place."

"I understand that Harry. I really do. If the way he treated Megan and Jason after finding out about their magical abilities-"

"Daddy." Lily said tugging his hand.

"Yes, sweety?"

"May I go join mum and James and Al?" Lily asked.

"Where is your mother, honey?"

"There" Lily said pointing towards Ginny, James and Al, looking at the bears.

"Sure. Go ahead. I will join you in a minute." Lily said a quick goodbye to Caroline before skipping off towards her mother and brothers. Harry watched her go halfway, but a gaggle of tourists blocked his way and when he looked up, Ginny and the kids had moved to a different enclosure.

Harry and Caroline continued to talk about Vernon Dursley for a few more minutes before Harry made his way to his family. They were no longer at the bear enclosure but had moved on to the lions.

As Harry reached them, Ginny looked at him puzzled, "What took you so long?" she asked

"Oh nothing. Just bumped into Caroline, she is taking care of the new cubs here. I thought Lily must have told you that."

"Lily? But why would Lily tell me that, she was with you."

"No, she said she is going to join you. I saw her walk towards you." Harry said, panic rising in his heart.

"She didn't reach us." Ginny said, panicking a little herself. "Okay, Harry. Hey, look at me. Calm down. She must be here somewhere." She grabbed his shoulders shaking him a little. "We know our Lily. She wouldn't just wander off. She must have gotten distracted. Let's split and cover the area, don't worry. Okay?"

Harry snapped into Auror mode and nodded as his heart raced.

"Lets meet back here in 30 minutes. If she is not here, we trained the children to go wait by the car. We would check the parking lot then, okay? And if you find her just give me a call. Okay?"

Ginny nodded. Harry grabbed Al's hand and started walking towards the bear enclosure, Lily must have gone off somewhere from near the enclosure, he needed to retrace her steps.

Al jogged beside him to match his pace. "Don't worry dad, we will find her."

Harry reached the enclosure and started looking around for possible reasons of distraction but couldn't find any. He was about to drag Al to a completely different direction when Al tugged at his hand.

"Dad look." Al said, pointing to the sign. It was the sign giving people directions towards the white tiger enclosure. A large picture of the white tiger was stuck to it. "Remember how much Lily likes baby animals?" Al asked.

"You think she might have gone there?" Harry asked, not completely convinced.

"Well, it is the only enclosure, which is a little off and not really visible and we can't see her anywhere here. It can't hurt to look, can it?"

Harry nodded as the two walked towards the white tiger enclosure.

Lily watched the little tiger cubs play around with each other. But within minutes, their mother took them and hid them in a den as she paced the floor roaring at the tourists. Lily turned to go back to her family. She knew where they were, she knew she would be able to keep an eye on them, so that she could join them later. But as she reached the opening, she realized that she could not really locate her family. Lily panicked; she wanted to go look for her parents. But her parents had warned her that there could be bad people around, who kidnapped children. So, she walked back and sat on a bench near the tiger enclosure, thinking about what to do next.

"Are you lost, dear?" An elderly lady asked kindly. Lily looked at the Lady who looked more like a horse and shook her head. Her father had told her to never tell strangers that she was lost.

"No, I am waiting for my daddy." She lied smoothly, "Are you lost, lady?"

The lady laughed. "No dear, I am waiting for my daughter-in-law to come pick me up."

Lily nodded. Petunia looked at the little girl with auburn hair and brown eyes. She looked so much like her sister Lily, if the brown eyes were replaced with the green, Petunia would have said that this child was Lily incarnate.

"You know, you look like this girl I knew a long time ago." Petunia told the little girl, not really knowing what compelled her to talk to her.

"Really? Did you know my mum, everyone says I look like her."

"Oh no! I am quite sure I don't know your mum. This girl I knew died several years ago. Her name was Lily."

"Hey, my name is Lily too. Daddy says lilies are the prettiest flowers."

"They are, lilies are quite beautiful."

"Yes. But I like sunflowers, and roses and tiny wild flowers. I just like flowers, they are so colourful."

"Yes, they are colourful and beautiful, just like you Lily."

Lily grinned at the old lady. "You know my name but I don't know your name, what is your name?"

"My name is Petunia."

"Hey, you are a pretty flower too, Mrs. Tuney." Lily said. Petunia's heart raced, no one in years had called her Tuney. "May I call you, Mrs. Tuney?"

"Yes. Yes. That's quite alright. So, Lily do you go to school?"

Lily made a face. "Not yet. I am not four yet. My cousin Hugo and I, we are the only ones who don't go to school."

"Oh? So everyone else in your family does?"

"Yes. Teddy is at a boarding school and James, Al and Rose are in their day school. Mum and Dad are at work. It becomes boring for Hugo and me." Lily said pouting.

"I am sure, you would hate going to school once you start going to school. I did when I was young, I wanted to stay home and play with my sister."

"Nuh-uh! I will love school."

Petunia laughed, "My younger sister used to say the same, but then she cried the entire term when she actually started going to school."

"Why?"

"Well, she didn't like being away from home. She was always afraid that we would just leave her there and never go back for her."

"Hmm…" Lily said, biting her nail. Petunia was reminded of Lily who had the same habit of biting her nail when she was thinking deeply about something. "Mrs. Tuney, I will be brave in school. My dad would never leave me. He loves all of us, soooooooooo much." Lily said opening her arms wide and pushing them.

"I am sure he does. You are a lovely young girl, Lily."

"Thank you Mrs. Tuney. You are nice too."

"But Lily, don't you think your father should be coming along now? Are you quite sure that he didn't ask you to wait somewhere else? If you are lost, you can tell. We are friends now, aren't we?"

Lily looked at her, biting her nail again, she was about to respond when a voice called out.

"LILY!" Albus cried, running over to Lily. Petunia was shocked to see a miniature Harry run towards them. "DAD! DAD! I FOUND HER!" He shouted, as he neared Lily. Petunia's eyes followed Albus to the man who now running towards Lily. Petunia sat frozen to her seat.

The little boy who looked like her long estranged nephew skidded to a halt near Lily and hugged her. "Are you alright? Merlin Lily, you shouldn't wander away. Scared us half to death! You really are alright, aren't you?" Albus asked, giving his sister another hug.

"Yes." Lily said meekly.

"Good, because you are going to be in so much trouble."

Lily was about to respond when Harry reached them and lifted Lily in a bone crushing hug.

"Oh, thank God. You are alright. Lily, I was so scared. Why didn't you go to your mother?" He asked setting Lily down.

Lily hung her head. "Were you here all this time?"

Lily nodded. Still hanging her head, "Sorry daddy." She whispered, with tears in her eyes. She was so relieved when Albus had found her, and she was so happy to be with her daddy again, but now she realized that she was in big trouble.

"Wait, let me call your mother and let her know that I found you. Okay?" Lily and Al nodded as Harry made a quick call to Ginny, who asked them to wait at the enclosure for James and her.

"Petunia." Caroline said as she approached her mother in law. "You ready to leave?"

Harry turned at the sound of that name, his eyes bulged a little. Sitting next to Al and Lily was none other than Petunia Dursley. "Aunt Petunia?" Harry asked as Albus jumped up to hug Caroline.

"Harry!" Caroline said with smile, as she gave Albus a hug. "We meet again!"

"Daddy?" Lily asked tugging at his sleeve. "Do you know Mrs. Tuney? She is my new friend."

Harry looked over to aunt Petunia who was not looking at anyone at all. "Yes, Lily. She is my aunt."

Albus' brow furrowed. "What aunt? Is this the same aunt that locked you in a cupboard when you were young?"

Harry stared at his son taken aback, as Lily looked at Petunia in horror.

"Albus Severus Potter." Harry said quietly, "How do you know this?"

Albus blushed and looked down, not really saying anything. "Al?" Harry prompted again, calmly.

Albus looked at Caroline fearfully, "Okay, but promise me you won't punish her." He said looking at Caroline.

"Megan told you?" Caroline asked him, her eyes wide with surprise. "But we never told her about this."

"She overheard Uncle Dudley and you and then she told James and I when we last visited. Also, we told Teddy." Albus said hanging his head in shame.

"It was not your secret to tell, Albus." Harry reprimanded his son, his voice still calm.

"I know that." Al said desperately, "But you never talk about your childhood like everyone does and when we found out, James was so angry he wanted to hunt your aunt down and- and- I knew you would be mad if he did something stupid. Teddy is the only one James listens to, so I told him."

Lily was clinging to Harry's hand, "Is it true, Mrs. Tuney? Did you really lock my daddy in a cupboard?" She asked, tears already forming in her eyes.

Petunia Dursley did not respond, she found the will to get up and walk away, so she got up and walked away. Lily looked at the rest of them before flinging herself in Harry's arms and sobbing. Caroline said a hasty goodbye and followed after Petunia, as Harry tried to calm Lily as well as Al, who had started crying after his sister.

When Ginny arrived, she couldn't understand why Lily refused to part with Harry and why Al clung to her and wept. Harry sat on the bench with Ginny and told her about what had happened, as they tried to calm their children down.

"Did you shout at her, Al?" James asked, his eyes narrow with anger.

Al shook his head. "I should have been here." James said angrily, "No one gets to be mean to my dad."

And in that moment, Harry was overwhelmed. He looked at Ginny, who smiled proudly at him as she hugged Al, who had calmed down a bit. Harry pulled James to his side and mussed his hair.

"I am glad you want to protect me Jamie. But what happened was a long time ago. Let it go!" James looked up to protest but Harry gave him a stern look. "She is an old woman now James. She has lost a lot of things in life. Give her the respect you would give any elderly lady and let it go. Okay? It is useless to be angry about the things that you won't be able to change." James nodded. Harry kissed his forehead before getting up. He knew Lily would not let go of him for a while.

The kids had all fallen asleep on the drive back home. Harry floated them to their respective rooms before going to bed. Ginny snuggled into him as he got under the sheets. He put his arm around her, they didn't say anything and soon drifted off to sleep.

Their sleep was disturbed thrice that night. First, when Lily woke up in the middle of the night in her room and walked to their room to sleep on Harry's chest; second, when James got up and walked to his parents' room to check on them and found Lily sleeping on top of Harry, so, he snuggled next to Harry; and third, when Al woke up and settled between his parents. When Ginny woke up the next morning, everyone including her were a mess of tangled limbs, she looked over to her husband. She had known him for years, but it never stopped to amaze her that he looked several years younger when he slept with a smile on his face. He rarely ever slept with a smile on his face, but today he did. So, she settled back in bed and closed her eyes. The children would miss school again because they slept in, but what harm could come from missing two days of school?

 **AN: And another chapter. Please do read and review! This is the longest chapter I have ever written. I hope you enjoy it. I always wanted to do a part where Petunia meets Lily Luna Potter. Anyway, I am really tired and sleepy so I leave you to the reading, favouriting, following and reviewing bit.**

 **Happy reading!**

 **Much love**

 **The fishes**


	32. Chapter 32

**24** **th** **December 2010**

 **"** Teddy." Harry knocked impatiently on the door of the room Teddy occupied during his stay at the Manor.

"It's open!" Teddy shouted from inside.

"Hey, come on buddy. I need you get dressed and in the entrance hall in 15 minutes." Harry said entering his room and shutting the door behind him.

"Dad! Relax. The ball starts at 7:00, it's not even 6:30 yet."

"Yeah. Go tell your Gran and Mum about it." Harry muttered.

"Dad. I am not stupid. Mum and Gran would kill me."

"Hey, how much time do we have to the ball?"

"It's 6:15, dad!"

"Okay. So, you won't mind if I just lie down on your bed with my eyes closed for 10 minutes, do you?"

"Be my guest and leave some space, I might join you too."

"I am glad you are not too old to sleep next to me."

"Keep talking dad and I would move you to the couch. And remove your formal robes! Merlin knows, Mum and Gran would not care that you are the saviour of wizardkind, they will kill you for the creases."

"Good point. Hey do you think maybe I should change and sleep?"

"Sleep?"

"Lie down with my eyes closed?"

Teddy laughed, "Yeah you should."

"Okay, I am transfiguring your clothes; remind me to put them back."

"Sure."

It seemed that Harry had just closed his eyes when the door to Teddy's room banged open.

"Ted. You need to save us." James' panicked voice floated to Harry.

"Oh man!" Teddy groaned. "Why are the four of you covered in soot?"

"Well, we didn't want to get dressed, so we decided to hide somewhere." Roxanne explained.

"So, you hid in a fireplace?"

"Don't be stupid." Louise said, "We hid in the children's room."

"That does not explain the soot."

"Yeah! I might have nicked an untested product from the shop." Fred said, "And I might have let it lose and it is quite possible that it blew up."

"So? Go clean yourselves, you have 20 minutes to the ball. Enough time to get ready."

"That's not the point." James said earnestly. "The room is a mess. Mum would kill us if she finds out."

"Ask Grumpy to clean it. You know he helps you out the most."

"Grumpy is busy in the kitchens and then they have to get ready for the ball too."

"Okay. What about Uncle Ron? Or Uncle George?"

"Oh yeah! Dad would be thrilled with us." Roxanne said sarcastically.

"Don't get snarky with me, Roxy. Ask uncle Bill, he is cool about such stuff."

"Nuh-uh! Dad is not cool when I am involved." Louise said.

"I will look into it." Harry said finally, removing the sheets covering him.

The four kids jumped.

"Dad." James started. "I can totally explain it."

"No need. I heard all of it. Now, go get dressed I will clean the mess up."

"You are the best, Dad. If I ever put a toe out of line-"

"I will know you are back to normal, and that would happen twice before the night is over. Now go. Shoo."

The four kids bounded out of the room relieved.

"Can we put him up for adoption?" Harry asked flipping back on the bed.

Teddy snickered. "You will miss him. It would be too quiet here, without him."

"I can do with the peace and quiet."

"No family would ever knowingly adopt a child who is named after James Potter and Sirius Black."

"What was Ginny thinking when she named him James Sirius Potter?"

"That he would take the legacy forward, since I am such a good boy."

Harry snorted. "If you are such a good boy, what were you doing in the kitchens after curfew, on the last night of your term?"

"How do you know that?"

Harry raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"I mean, I was doing no such thing, whoever told you was mistaken." Teddy said trying to control his hair colour.

Harry laughed. "I am actually proud of the fact that you never get caught."

"I have wolf senses. I sense people from a mile away. It's difficult to get caught like that."

"You would make a great Auror, you know."

"Dad. You know I don't want to become an Auror. I have seen you in the hospital too many times; I don't want to put you through that. I will be a curse breaker."

"Oh! You think that does not involve risks?"

"It does." Teddy said with a shrug. "But it is such an exciting thing to do." Teddy said, his eyes gleaming.

Before Harry could respond the door burst open again, this time Victoire entered with Dominique, Lucy and Molly in tow, the four girls were already dressed for the ball.

"Honestly! Who came up with the idea that dresses were a good option for a ball?" Victoire asked throwing her hands in the air. "Oh Hi, Uncle Harry. Are you hiding from Gran and Co. too?"

Harry grinned. "Maybe."

Lucy laughed. "Why do you throw the ball every year then? If you dislike it just as much."

"Tradition." Harry replied. "When I started living here, all my ancestors insisted that I keep this one Potter tradition alive."

"Sucks to be you. I can always disappear after a few minutes and go to the library." Molly said lounging casually on the couch in Teddy's room.

"Sucks to be a girl in a nightmarish dress too." Victoire grumbled.

"Please Vic." Dominique said, "The dress is beautiful. You need to stop walking like a troll and you will be fine."

"Dom. You like to play princess. I feel like I will fall over the dress and break my neck and I haven't even tried out for the Quidditch team yet." Victoire complained.

Dominique rolled her eyes. "Vic. You will be _fine._ Teddy tell her. And in a few years my team would be creaming your team at Hogwarts."

"Hah!" Molly said, "I would like to see you try. We Ravenclaws would be creaming the rest of you, we have the smarts."

"Mol, Dom. You guys have not even reached Hogwarts." Lucy said, "What if Dominique became a Ravenclaw? And you became a Slytherin or something."

"I would never be a book worm!" Dominique said, "I am too pretty for that." She added sticking her tongue out at Victoire and Molly.

Victoire and Molly rolled their eyes, and Victoire complained about the dress again and the argument came to a full circle.

A lot of people assumed that Victoire with her golden hair and Veela looks would be a vain child, but she wasn't, in fact Victoire was someone who always looked at a person's heart rather than face. She was mature for her age and had a natural grace that she rarely acknowledged. Dominique with her strawberry blond hair and blue eyes was as pretty as a peach and knew it, something that her mother's side of the family approved of. Molly was the calmest of the lot, not that she didn't possess a fiery temper; she generally couldn't bother about anything, other than the characters in her books. She had inherited her mother's chocolate curls and her father's brown eyes but she possessed an innocence which was solely hers and Lucy had fiery red hair and brown eyes and was a true copy of her aunt Ginny, she was just as adventurous, snarky, manipulative and brave.

Harry watched the four girls bicker about their dresses and the ball and he watched how each of them turned to Teddy for his opinion. They had barely finished talking when Al walked in.

"Hey Teddy, Can you help me with this tie, please?" He asked. "Oh hey dad. Are you hiding from Mum and Gran and Andromeda? They are looking for you."

Harry groaned, making to get out of bed.

"Relax." Al said with a grin. "I am kidding. They are actually looking for James, Fred, Roxy and Louise. Apparently our room is a mess and they want answers."

"Oh no." Harry said, "I promised the four of them that I would clean it up."

"Dad." Al said seriously, "When will you learn to pick my tell? I saw the room, I asked Sleepy to clean it up, it's done. Now, Ted, help me with the tie please."

Harry looked at his youngest son, Albus was not loud like his brother but he was deadly. With Albus, no one ever knew whether he was telling the truth or lying, Harry knew that Albus had made it his personal motto to not lie but he could be one of the most manipulative creatures out there. Albus was also someone who was greatly influenced by both Andromeda and Dorea Potter. He kept family at a pedestal and valued traditions for their significance. To Harry Albus at times was too mature for a 5 year old.

Harry watched as Teddy helped Albus with his tie before giving over to Victoire who fixed him up in no time. Albus sat beside Molly and started discussing the newest theory Percy Potter had taught him and Teddy disappeared to change for the ball. As Harry climbed out of the bed, Rose came running in followed by Lily who was giggling madly and Hugo who looked pleased with himself.

"Teddy!" Lily exclaimed loudly before seeing Harry. "Daddy!" She shrieked running to him. "How do I look Daddy?" She asked twirling around in her the red dress that he had helped select.

"And me uncle Harry? How do I look?" Rose chirped from Lily's side twirling in her dark blue dress.

"Me too!" Hugo exclaimed and Harry was surprised to see him in a yellow dress.

"Lilypad, Rosie. You both look so beautiful! And Hugo, you look wonderful, but shouldn't you be wearing your dress robes?"

Lily and Rose giggled, as Hugo smiled at Harry and said, "But I am not Hugo. I am- I am- Minnie. Rosie's little sister."

"Dad, I think you should get dressed too. We have to be down there in 5 minutes." Teddy said walking into the room, dressed to perfection. "Oh! Look here, Lily, you look so pretty, and so do you Rosie. And who is this beautiful little girl here?" Teddy asked bending down in front of Hugo.

Hugo giggled, "I am Minnie. Rosie's little sister."

"Oh! Nice to meet you Minnie, but Rosie where is your brother Hugo? You know your mum and dad would be very sad if they don't find him."

"No, they won't!" Hugo argued, "I will be there."

"Yes but you see, Rosie's parents love Hugo very much too." Teddy said patiently, "They would miss him, you know Aunt Hermione might cry too."

Rose giggled as Lily and Hugo exchanged solemn looks. The rest of the children, including Albus had already made their way down to the entrance hall.

"Oh no!" Lily said sadly, "I love Aunt Hermione, I don't want her to be sad. Teddy can we bring back Hugo?"

"I guess we can, will it be okay if we changed Minnie's dress?"

Lily and Hugo nodded, Teddy looked at Harry who had changed into his clothes already. Harry nodded and summoned Hugo's clothes and Teddy helped him change as Harry went down to the hall with Lily and Rose.

* * *

Harry watched Teddy twirl Lily around for a last time before she was whisked away to bed. He looked at the remaining children, Al and Rose were dozing off on the chairs in a corner, James, Fred, Roxanne and Louise were sitting at a table attacking their desserts.

Bill was dancing with Dominique, Molly had conspicuously disappeared after the first dance and Lucy was dancing with Keith Wood, Victoire was dancing with Adam and Teddy was dancing with his grandmother.

"Hey, you alright?" Ginny asked, taking the seat next to his and slipping her hand in his hand.

"Yeah. Just thinking."

"About how beautiful your wife is?"

"No." Ginny swatted his arm and Harry laughed. "I can't think about an accepted fact. I was thinking about the kids."

"Wish we could give James up for adoption?"

"No. No sane family would knowingly adopt a child named after James Potter and Sirius Black. Seriously, what were you thinking Gin?"

"Hey, I blame you. I had just recovered from a difficult delivery, I was emotional. You should have knocked some sense into me."

Harry laughed as he put his arm around Ginny. "They are all so different from each other. I don't even know how they manage to be thick as thieves with such contradicting personalities."

"Because they love each other. They are each other's family. You know someday, when we won't be there for them anymore, they would have each other. They would never be alone."

"Yeah…" Harry said with a sigh, "I worry about Teddy though, at times. I know all of these kids love him but-"

"Teddy is a part of our family Harry. James, Al and Lily see, love, adore, respect and resent him as an elder sibling. Mum has already adopted him. He will never be alone. We are raising our children right."

"I know… I just, I know how difficult it is to be alone."

"But you have not been alone since the day you became friends with Ron. People always assume that I became a Potter by marrying you, but that's just my name. In all honesty Harry, you became a Weasley the day we got married; you had been one much before that, it just became official that day."

"I love you Gin. I really do."

"I love you too, Harry."

"Hey Harry." Ron called, "I think it's time for you two to split up. Rose and Al need to get to bed and James, Louise, Roxanne and Fred are missing."

Ginny groaned. "You know we can always give him away to a muggle family."

Harry laughed before getting up and joining Ron and George to go hunt for the missing pranksters, as Hermione and Angelina took Albus and Rose to bed and Ginny stayed back with Andromeda to fulfil her duties as the hostess.

Harry didn't have to go far before he found the four, huddled under a blanket in the library, with Molly almost asleep, as Teddy read them a story. The thirteen of them were as different as they could be, but they were a family and like Dorea Potter says, love is thicker than blood.

 **AN: And another chapter. I would however, have to take a break from this fic for a while, till I bring Being Teddy Lupin up to date. So, I would probably be introducing another fic, about the next Gen at Hogwarts, called Hogwarts 3.0. It would probably be up by next week. Also, don't worry, this break won't last for long. Just a few weeks, maybe less and then we would come back to this fic for it's last chapters.**

 **Also, keep looking out for a one shot between Lily Luna Potter and Petunia Dursley. It takes place on this same day and I would put it up soon enough.**

 **Till then, please do read and review. I love hearing from you. If you are new here and you like this fic, don't forget to follow/favorite this fic or me or both.**

 **Also, check out my other fics too, as I keep saying, they are all connected and none of them are that bad.**

 **Please read and review.**

 **Happy Reading.**

 **Much love,**

 **The fishes**


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